Smash Bros: Uncommon Sense
by CompleteIndie
Summary: What kind of fiascos will go on in Smash Mansion during the fourth Smash Tournament? Find out! Sequel to Behind the Scenes, but you don't need to read that first. Teen because I am paranoid.
1. Grand Appearence

**Grand Appearance**

* * *

It was 2014. The SSB4 tournament as about to start, and the twelve veterans were waiting. Mario, Mr. Video Game himself. Donkey Kong, king of the jungle. Link, Hero of Hyrule. Samus, bounty hunter extraordinaire. Kirby, the pink puffball. Fox McCloud, leader of Star Fox. Yoshi, omnivore of the year. Red, the greatest Pokémon trainer in Kanto - or, the whole Pokèmon world, for that matter. Luigi, the eternal understudy. Captain Falcon, supersonic F-Zero racer. And Ness, a PSI Powerhouse.

"Attention-a, folks! We would like-a you to enjoy your-a stay-a here in Smash Mansion." Mario started.

"Indeed. As Hero of Time, I was accepted to this tournament. And now, you are as well." Link added.

"In fact, this will be a great chance to make new friends. Or enemies." Samus said.

"So, we hope you get used to Smash Mansion." Fox McCloud included.

"Because you're going to be here a while..." Red included, Pikachu and Jigglypuff to his side. "Pika!""Jigglypuff!"

"Quite a while." Luigi finished for Red.

"But first, we would like you to meet someone." Ness said.

"The... greatest Smasher of all time." Falcon said, reading from a hidden script. Then, whispering to Ness. "A little conceited, is he not?"

With that, the lights flickered three times, before plunging the room in pure darkness.

Several screams were let out from the shock.

" **Do you know my identity?** " A hoarse, raspy voice let out. Several whispers, as they noticed as thin black silhouette zip past some of the crowd.

" **Or am I a mystery to you all?** " A single candle lit, giving an eerie glow to the room.

" **Am I your best friend**?" The flame turned green and grew.

" **Or your best nightmare?** " The flame turned black, darkening the room and spooking out the audience.

" **I am...** " The candle exploded, throwing wax everywhere.

" **the one, the only...** " a candle lit in front of each veterans, in their favorite color. A center flame appeared, rainbow.

" **James Prodigy.** " The lights flickered as if to a beat, before leaving all but one off. The one in back was on.

" **The Smasher of infinite power.** " Cue the applause. James thought to himself.

* * *

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 **23-8-5-18-5 20-8-5 20-8-9-18-4 2-15-15-11 9-19 9-20'19 1 13-25-19-20-5-18-25**  
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 **9-14 20-8-5 8-1-14-4-19 15-6 20-8-5 4-5-19-20-18-21-3-20-9-15-14 11-9-14-7**


	2. Right on Cue

**Right On Cue**

* * *

Applause rang through the Great Hall.

Right on cue, said the Smashing Mastermind, James Prodigy. Now, questions.

"How did you do that?" "You didn't do this for Brawl!?" "What?" "How?"

Right on cue.

"So," James started. "I'd like to welcome you all to Smash Mansion." James spun his hand around and grabbed a cup of wine... Oh no.

"Um... well, I was never one for speeches, but maybe I'll succeed this time." James muttered, but several heard him. "First," he said to the crowd out loud, "I'd like to show you something before we begin." The lights, hurry up, please tell me the lights will shut off right now... They did. Right on cue.

The lights dimmed, and James started drinking his wine, still oblivious to what was going to happen. It played a little video James titled Opening Cinematic. (AN: You guys have seen this when turning on Smash for Wii U (unless you skip the opening video...) He somehow managed to go through an entire bottle of wine.

Afterwards, James stood up dizzy, and simply dropped the wine glass.

"Now, first things first..." James voiced was slightly slurred. He dropped the remote too, now, and it starting playing the wrong song. NO! Not... Dialga... and Palkia... The new... main theme! James dizzily reached down, grabbed the remote, after flicking through a few songs; Dialga/Palkia Battle Theme, Onett/Winters, Ken Stage, Fight On!, and Tomorrow is Mine in that order to be precise, James finally got the song he wanted. The 'Super Smash Bros. Main Theme' he arranged back at the start of the planning phase for Sm4sh. "Thank you everyone, thanks for coming!"

"Second, I would like to state that seven fighters have reservations planned here, but will not be arriving for a few months. You'll be happy to know, Melee, that the Genetic Pokémon is coming back!" Several Melee fighters, as well as Lucario panicked. Melee veterans, because knowing how James and Mewtwo were mortal enemies, that James was likely nearly drunk beyond opinion, and Lucario because Psychic-type was out for his blood for replacing him in Brawl...

Dr. Mario got out his clipboard, and starting writing James in for the hospital, sighing. What was it, SEVEN times in the first month of Melee?

"Third, practice will be starting in September, and full fledged tourneys in November. Enjoy two months of no training." By now, his voice at this point was so slurred it almost wasn't understandable.

"And, he faints." Doc said. And with that, his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and James passed out, falling straight into the Doc's hands.

"Right on cue." Doc said, unaware to the fact he made the chapter title said for the fourth time in a small period of time.

* * *

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	3. The Final Destination Incident

**The Final Destination Incident**

* * *

"The first real match of the tournament! Being broadcasted to trillions of viewers, mostly in the dimension belonging to the... higher authority. With this ultimate match being broadcasted so far, nothing can afford to go wrong! Right...?"

This was the start of James' commentary for the first match of the tournament. One stock, one minute timer. The stage? Final Destination. The fighters? Mario, Link, Pikachu... and Kirby. The items? Smash Ball only.

The Smash Ball... Ah, what a weapon. A weapon of James' own design, implemented after weeks of attempts, tests, simulations, experimenting... The Smash Ball. The weapon that allows one to use an attack that, when mastered, could wipe someone from the fabric of time and space... No one was even close to doing this, though. Marth and Lucina came closest, however. Killed someone with a single strike. Pretty good for a start, agreed?

None the less, It was Final Destination that got thrown out of commission for a year, and this is the story why.

James had a cup of wine in one hand, alongside two completely empty bottles, a microphone in the other. He had his attention the match, the camera in front of him, facing the stage

"With this match being the first of the tournament, and the first of 2014, this better be good!" James said, slamming his cup down. However, a small drop of wine flew upwards, and landed on the circuit boards... James didn't notice the slight distortion of the music.

Mario used his forward air on Link, throwing the green clad hero in the coal floor of FD. He quickly attacked with a Mario Tornado, wrapping Kirby in the mix. Pikachu, however, caught them both by surprise with a Quick Attack, messing up Mario's combo.

"This match is heating up, folks. At this right," James said, looking at the timer - which had only 30 seconds left - "it might go Sudden Death!"

James messed up, and split his entire cup of wine over the control boards. Seven things happened at once.

First, the timer started running at double speeds, effectively leaving fifteen seconds to Sudden Death. Second, the Smash Ball started spawning, along three more - which was a HUGE indicator that the control terminal was broken, because limit of one Smash Ball at a time. Third, the music distorted into an heavy remix - a word which here means 'an insufferable song that had pitch increased and decreased by about twelve octaves each note, louder and louder as it progressed' - of the theme for Final Destination, that was going to give headaches to all players, viewers, and hosts. Fourth, the colorful background of the stage started went black - odd. Fifth, the Bob-ombs started dropping like in Sudden Death. Sixth, Pikachu and Kirby died, side by side, due to said Bob-ombs. Seventh, the stage started losing altitude. Quickly. It went from one billion feet above orbit feet in the air to falling at about fifty million a miles a second.

The match ended, with Final Destination still falling. Sudden Death started. But horribly wrong.

Link and Mario started at zero damage, and each hit proceeded to put the two fighters in the negatives. The Bob-ombs were replaced with Smash Balls. The Sudden Death went on for only a few seconds, however. Final Destination hit the ground in front of Smash Mansion, and the results - horrible.

* * *

"Well, Link and my counterpart are going to be in the hospital." Dr. Mario said, looking at the injured Smashers. "For about... five weeks. Twisted arms, and legs, crushed arm in my counterpart's case, and the indestructible Master Sword is bent." He sighed and turned his gaze from the mangled Link and Mario to face James. "What the hell even happened?" The doc asked, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say they fell a billion feet!"

James sighed. "They did." The doc looked at James wide-eyed for a moment, before leaving the wing, muttering something about a raise.

* * *

Master Hand was working with the bills - You couldn't run the biggest tournament in the multiverse without SOME bills, after all.

Master Hand started reading his bills aloud. "Ten thousand to rebuild Final Destination, forty thousand in lawsuits, five thousand in Mewtwo's return, forty-seven thousand in rent, one hundred seventy-four thousand in smaller expenses..." Doing the math, Master Hand almost screamed.

"Two hundred and seventy six THOUSAND DOLLARS... AND, the Doc wants a RAISE!?" Master Hand sighed.

"Why must I suffer?"

* * *

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	4. One Thing After Another

Hey guys, Joseph here! I updated my profile to feature a link to my YouTube page! Tell me what you guys think! Of my channel... and this chapter. James didn't see this one coming. Also, I have two NEW OCs in the story, Tim and Magi (OCs belonging to Photoshop Flowey and QueenTasha7, respectively)

* * *

 _One Thing After Another_

* * *

James was about to start a match. He had been challenged about one minute ago, and he HAD to accept this match, as he hadn't had a match in seventy-two hours. Or seventy-two days, or that matter. Each Smasher is permitted a cool down session, that is seventy-two hours. They aren't forced to battle, but can if they want. He read the destination... James got a say in things, it seemed.

The Smasher that planned the battle was permitted to choose stages they were fine with, and out of remaining options, the opponents get to choose. In the case of multiplayer, everyone would pick stages they are fine with, and then a vote out of the ones that appear the most.

Mushroomy Kingdom... or Delfino Plaza.

James never liked the former, so he chose the latter.

As the battle began, he looked at his foe. A bunch of Megavitamins rising upwards... _Could it be...?_

It was. Doctor Mario Mario PhD, World-Renown doctor.

James knew the Doc had stayed at the Mansion to be a doctor... But... James scowled. Master Hand didn't list the Doc on the list of fighters...

Oh well. Time to wreck Doc, show the new fighters - the 'Mii Fighters', as Master Hand called them - around, started work on Project Custom, and renovate Final Destination. Ugh, this would be a long day. First, however, to wreck the Doc.

The Doc ran forward, using his dash attack, but James dodged. _Time to punish._

James was now part of this Mii Fighter program. He was finally on TV! So what if a few people had to die? That's show business, baby! All aside, he reconsidered his move set...

He had choose to be a Swordfighter, something he was rather familiar with. Blurring Blade for a basic special, a chargeable attack that hit around eight times. His side special was Airborne Assault, an attack that also involved charging, before spinning around to rebound off his foe. However, missing with this move was not an option, as it left James helpless. he didn't have a good feeling about that. His recovery was Stone Scabbard. Pretty good vertical distance, but the horizontal distance was straight up, straight down. Only good for vertical. Finally, a down special counter called Blade Counter. He couldn't forgive master Hand for rushing to finish movesets, so he settled by giving every newcomer with a down special, a counter. Irritating. Finally, his Final Smash, Final Edge. With sword held high, James would unleash a barrage of shock waves. They would spread out in a fan pattern, dealing multiple blows to foes they touch, while also pushing them towards the edge of the screen. It could even hit through walls and floors, making it easy to attack lots of opponents at once. A helpful move, to say the least.

He was too busy thinking about his choices that he didn't notice the Doc was standing until he was grabbed. He was thrown off the stage. He tried to hit the Doc AND recover using his Airborne Assault. That was the plan until Doc hit him with his forward aerial. In case you didn't know, that thing has a meteor effect. Guess who won the 1-stock match.

Sad, James didn't even deal one damage.

* * *

James was irritated.

Next up, to show the new fighters around the mansion. According to his notes, the boy was to go with Shulk, the girl to bunk with Zelda and Shiek.

The boy was named Tim. He had signed up as a Mii Gunner. He had a medium build, with medium height. He was wearing a green shirt, meaning his favorite color was green. Master Hand had asked favorite colors, and Mii Fighters ended up with shirts of their favorite color. He had sea blue eyes, and milk chocolate hair. He was supposed to be bunking with Shulk - Master Hand asked what Tim's favorite universe was that was represented here, and Tim had chose Xenoblade. According to his notes, his moveset was Grenade Launch, Stealth Burst, Lunar Launch (although the words Arm Rocket was scratched out, possibly meaning that was the original plan), and Bomb Drop. Final Smash - Full Blast, a devastating blast of light, akin to Samus's Zero laser. Master Hand's notes stated he was a expert fighter, but was too cocky, and a little too brave. He seemed to be destructive, according to the notes. Judging how this document was written in about seven different colors of pens, James could understand the assumption.

The girl was named Magi, who had signed up as a Mii Swordfighter. Medium build, medium height, like Tim. She wore a pink shirt and mini-skirt. Her hair was hot pink, her eyes were bright golden, which never failed to send shivers up his spine. With eyes that can be any color, or even every single color in spectrum, when he made his eyes golden, he loved to freak people out. Monotone voice, golden eyes, pale face, the works. It was rather easy, really, to go into a death trance too, which made him so still, his breathing so shallow, Ike once thought he was dead. Lucario was nice for not spoiling the prank... Great April Fools prank, really. According to master hand's notes, she was kind, confusing, appears wimpy and peaceful, but is much stronger than you think. James laughed at the words written in the corner - _Don't let her in the trophy room_ \- Something told James something of the hand's had gotten broken. Her moveset was listed as Shuriken of Light, Chakram, Skyward Slash Dash, and Reversal Slash. Final Smash - Final Edge, like James.

He showed them the Mansion, which had been renovated, and then gave them the keys to their rooms. The keys were both made of gold, a circle with space for an icon at the top. Tim's key had a Monado as the image, reflecting how he and Shulk shared the room. Magi's had a Triforce, which meant access to legend of Zelda rooms. Any of them, really. James was the only Mii to have his own room. Which he did not mind.

Afterwards, he worked on Project Custom. A small stage building experiment that all the Smashers could join in. He had gotten all the rules straight, which was good.

After drawing the new blueprints, backgrounds, and writing out the sheet music for the new Final Destination version 2, James sat down, before getting dinner at the café. Maybe it was still open. He lied down first. _I'll just close my eyes for five seconds._

He didn't get up until morning.


	5. Project Custom

**Hey guys, Joseph here! So, I am holding a contest. It is a Smash brothers writing contest, with a summer theme. Basically, you write a Super Smash Brothers themed FanFiction about something the Smashers might do in the summer. I can feature any amount of Smashers, with any summer-related theme. Your OC can appear, or it can be only Mario and Link. The choice is yours! PM any of the judges a link to the story in question, and it will be judged. The judges consist of me, Photoshop Flowey, and QueenTasha7. If those names sound familiar, they should. They were the winners of July 2016's contest. The rules are that the rating must be K, K+, or T. It must have no more than three chapters, and it MUST be finished by August 31st. Good luck.**

* * *

 _Project Custom_

* * *

James was finished Project Custom. All that was left was to reveal it.

* * *

"Hello, everyone!" he called out. His hand instantly went for a glass of wine that was always here for him, but he noticed it wasn't there. _Pity._

"I am here with a brand new project! The majority of you have been complaining about the stage choices. Well, good news! Project Custom is finished! I'd like to unveil... THE STAGE BUILDER!" Cheers went through the room. James proceeded to explain the new feature, and mentioned every fighter was allowed to make _one_ stage at first. Rewards could be given as designing more stages.

James started allowing people to make their stages.

* * *

Mario and Luigi laughed at their results. Mario had recreated Mushroom Kingdom I from Melee, while Luigi had made Mushroom Kingdom II. Ah, the good old days.

* * *

Peach was busy remaking her own stage that had debuted in Melee. She choose to design it without any of the switches. Or that Banzai Bill. She really loathed that Banzai Bill.

* * *

Tim started designing his stage. Of course, James would to verify, but the layout was simple enough. Final Destination to begin. However, the ledges were covered in LAVA! And above the lava were two STRONG cannons, that could throw the foe off stage. Strike that. Not could. Would. The track: _You Will Know Our Name_ _s_. The funny thing? Tim forgot the song name for a minute.

* * *

Magi was designing her stage, the DimensionCentre. It features on the left side two moving platforms, a big one ABOVE a small one. They would move diagonally up-left. The right side featured a rectangle with a spring on it. The track was _Ocarina of Time Medley_.

* * *

...James really wished he hadn't done the Project Custom this time around. Last tournament, it appeared under the name of Project Creative, but still...

He was half-way through all of the needed blueprints. He was feeling like nothing would work today! Ugh...

Well, he was half done. Only about six more hours of work.

It could wait until tomorrow.

Or two weeks.

He didn't really care.

* * *

 **AN: Turns out, a friend of mine made the DimensionCentre on Miiverse. Not linking to it, but still... Sorry the chapter is short. Honestly, I've got enough on my plate, with my YouTube channel (I've got a Pokémon Blue Let's Play AND an Undertale one (50% done, this one), if anyone is interested.), a super-special chapter in the works for this, AND the ProdigyGaming Summer Vacation Writing Prompt. Honestly, short chapters are the least of my worries. Oh well... All in another day of work, for me! James Prodigy! The God of FanFiction, YouTube, contests, and TV Hosting! The Awesome Deity of Awesome Awesomeness! BOB! ...Don't judge. Check out my profile, other stories, my contest, and the YouTube channel. The link is on my profile. So, without further ado, constructive criticism I will gladly take, flames I will take to the dump.**


	6. The Tour of Smash Mansion

Hey guys, Joseph here. To give you an idea of how long this story was in the works, here is the date: **8/7/2016**. I'll put the date I finished it in the Bottom Author's Notes. This is an expanded version of the tour that James gave the two new Mii Fighters, Tim and Magi. Shall we? Also, while I'm here, why not check out my YouTube channel.

* * *

 **THE TOUR OF SMASH MANSION**

* * *

Joseph was tapping his foot impatiently. The two new Mii Fighters were supposed to be here. He sighed.

"Make my day feel longer, why don't you..." James muttered, as the limo came. "Thank Arceus, they are finally here!" James gasped, happy they arrived...

James opened the door for the new fighters.

* * *

"So, hello. I am your host, Joseph Redmes. Welcome to the Smash Mansion." He shook the hands of both new Mii Fighters. He quickly consulted his notes.

"I presume you are Tim," he said, pointing to the male Gunner in question, "- and Magi." he said, pointing to the female Swordfighter. Both of them nodded.

"Good. Also, Master Hand would like to talk to you after the tour. Let us begin. First, just hang your coats over there if you like." As they walked to the western wall to hang up their coats, they looked around the room. There was coat hangers all along the western and eastern wall, there was a pair of doors on the northern and southern walls, and in the center of the room, there were statues of Crazy Hand and Master Hand, on the left and right, respectively.

James led the new fighters to the second room.

* * *

The next room was rather nice for a staircase.

There was a spiral staircase going up to at least four floors. It had a colored carpet that had the same color pattern as the walls.

The walls were painted with a fancy design, and looked a little like a dungeon or something. It was black down here, then red, yellow, green and blue. The stairs were colored the same way. The designs were simple at the top but elaborate near the bottom.

The floor had a black design, with a gray, smoky image of the Smash Bros. logo, as if it had dissolved into vapor.

"Welcome to the central tower. This is basically the center of the mansion. Where would like to go first?" James asked.

The two new fighters settled for the western wall.

"Shall we?" Tim asked, getting a chuckle out of James.

* * *

In the western room, it was simple. A bunch of glass boxes were lined against the northern and southern wall. There was also a table in the center of the room. The painted walls in the room made it look like a castle scene during day. There was about fifty little trophies in the room, some in the glass boxes, some on the table.

"This is the Trophy Room. It has been a staple feature since our second tournament. These boxes," James gestured to the glass boxes. "-are Trophy Boxes. Themed boxes with trophies about said theme. Such as Mii Swordfighters or Gunners." James said this last part pointing to the new Mii Fighters.

"What about those?" Magi asked, pointing to the table of extra trophies.

"If a trophy doesn't have a Trophy Box, it goes there." James explained, and he grabbed a book, that looked similar to a catalog.

"This book holds description about every single trophy so far. Whenever Master Hand makes a new one, he writes a description to go with it. Here is an example." James turned looked at the very first page, and showed it. It had a picture of Mario, a fireball in his right hand, leaving a trail. James read the page's description. "' _As iconic as iconic gets, this gaming celebrity is known for saving the world from Bowser. He's got amazing jumping skills and makes use of a wide range of transformations. In his free time, he plays too many sports to count. In Smash Bros., he's a well-rounded fighter you can rely on. Say it with me: 'It's-a me, Mario!'_ " Tim and Magi indeed say it along with James, which caused the swordsman to laugh.

"On to the next room, shall we?" Tim said.

* * *

"This is called the Masterpiece Arcade." James said, leading Tim and Magi into the eastern room. "We first featured it last tournament." James showed off the room.

The wallpaper in the room was designed to make the room look like it was in Pac-Man. The flooring was patterned to be the ground blocks from Super Mario Bros. The ceiling had an 8-bit Smash bros. logo. But that wasn't the big thing.

The arcade machines.

Along the left wall were six games. From the back of the room to the front, they were Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, and Metroid. On the right wall, there was Kirby's Adventure, Yoshi, Super Mario World, Super Mario Kart, Super Metroid, and Kirby Super Star. In the center of the room, there was seven machines. Starting from the near-left, going to the back-right, there was F-Zero, Earthbound, Mega Man 2, Pac-Man, Kid Icarus, and Punch-Out! However, next to both Kid Icarus and Punch-Out!, there was one more game. It seemed to support four players. James led the two new fighters over so they could see. The game had two titles listed on the console. The first title, on the left, read ニンテンドウオールスター! 大乱闘スマッシュブラザーズ ( _Nintendo All Star! Dairantō Smash Brothers_ , in English right below the Japanese spelling), and the name on the right read in clear English _Super Smash Bros._

"Yes." James said. "Smash Bros. This is recreation of the tournament, featuring the same stages, fighters, items, and music as the first tournament." James seemed to lose focus and look out into space. "It was so long ago. And only nine chapters, too." Tim amd Magi looked concerned.

"Nine chapters? What is this, a story?" Magi asked.

"Yeah! Explain." Tim said.

James looked at them with his spectrum eyes, and shivers went down their spines.

In a deep, raspy voice, nothing like his own, he said, " _ **I ONLY REVEAL WHAT I WISH TO REVEAL. SO, ARE YOU DONE ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT MY PAST, OR ARE YOU GONNA HAVE A BAD TIME?**_ " James' left eye seemed to be shining brighter than his right.

They stopped asking questions.

"Well, let's continue, shall we?" James held back a laugh.

* * *

The trio went back to the staircase. James led them up.

"What about outside? Aren't we seeing that, too?" Magi asked.

James had the same flash in his eye as before. "Heh heh heh... You'll see why when we get to the roof."

On the second floor, James led the trio into the western room.

* * *

"This is amazing!" Magi said.

"Yes. It is." James agreed, although for different reasons.

The rec room was jam-packed. There was a sofa in the center, and two Laz-E-Boys beside it. There was a huge 42" HD plasma TV in the wall. A coffee table was in front of the sofa.

There was two oak wood tables to the sides of room. They each had twelve chairs.

"It does get loud in here." James said, before wincing. He hated crowds, loud noises, etc.

He walked over to the sofa, and turned on the TV with the remote. "One interesting thing. While you can watch in your own rooms..." James held his finger on the channel up button. "Friends can watch in here too for maybe movie nights. There is a lot of channels... In fact..." James seemed to being adding some numbers. "Sixty... Carry the..." He stopped suddenly. "One thousand forty two channels. That reminds me. I wonder what happened in the supposed series finale... Hmm... The quiz show was good. So was the cooking class..." He started to walk out of the room, seeming to forgot the tour almost. He quickly Tim and Magi a small motion to hurry, muttering stuff about news reports and musicals.

"Shall we, Magi?"

* * *

James led the trio into the central tower again.

"Northern route leads to the storage room. Eastern to the kitchen. And southern leads to dining room, which you'll see tonight. Nothing to see here." He pointed out, leading Tim and Magi up to the third floor.

He led them into the third floor.

* * *

Okay. He passed Tim and Magi a document. It had room placements, with every Smasher listed, including James, Tim and Magi. However, there were eleven empty rooms, and a few names for people who weren't here. Mewtwo, Lucas, Roy, Ryu, Cloud, Corrin, and Bayonetta. They quickly guessed they weren't supposed to see those names. Magi tried to forget those names. Tim did his best to remember.

"Those the rooms. You were supposed to bunk with Shulk and Zelda." He said, pointing to Tim, then Magi. "But a change of plans occurred. Your things have been brought to your rooms. I hope you can get there after Master Hand is done talking with you. We should progress."

Tim continued his little _Shall we?_ act, causing James to laugh out loud.

* * *

On the fourth floor, the first thing Tim noticed was no walls dividing rooms. Or, room, I should say. There was a wall with small pictures, one beeping red. Below each image, there was a button. There was eight warp panels on the other side of the room. There was also two more in a corner. Away from all the other stuff, was a small office. It had a sign, labeled **MASTER HAND'S OFFICE**.

"This is where battles can take place. I should mention. Many battles can go on at once. Up to sixteen players can be in battles at once, but only eight in a single battle." James thought he might be confusing them, and re-worded it. "Eight players are allowed in a single battle. But two eight players battles can be going. Or eight two players battles. You following?" The two newcomers said yes. "Good. OR, a fighter or two can take on either Classic Mode or All-Star Mode. There is two different Classic Modes: Alpha, and Omega. Alpha gives you a series of paths you can follow. Red is easy, blue is normal, green is hard. Omega is seven rounds, with roughly two to six battles to choose from at a time. At the end of either mode, you fight Master Hand, Crazy Hand, and -" James stopped himself. He wasn't allowed to mention it. "You can also select-"

"Master Hand, Crazy Hand, and..." Tim prompted him to continue.

" **It is nothing that concerns you.** " James said, his voice raspy. "Anyway, you can also select a difficulty level in both modes. On a scale of 0.0 to 9.0, you can pay gold. More gold, more prizes. But the higher the level, he harder. 9.0 is called 'Nothing Harder', just saying."

James led the newcomers to the roof after, and they gasped.

"What the hell happened!?" Tim asked.

"Oh my god..." Magi gasped.

In front of them was a black, red, and blue piece of garbage. An entire quarter of the backyard of Smash Mansion (a whopping one point five million square feet backyard, mind you) was a crater. In the center of the crater, was what seemed like a stage. Red and blue tendrils stuck out of the wreckage like spikes. The odd black metal seemed twisted. The stage was beyond repair.

"That's why I didn't lead you outside. It is still a miracle they survived."

"Make sens- what? Someone got hit by that!?" Tim asked.

"No." James confirmed.

"Okay... that's good."

"Mario and Link were on-stage when it smashed."

"WHAT!?"

"Master Hand would like to see you now, bye!" James said, shoving them to his office door.

"Shall we, Magi?" Tim asked. And the response was a golden one for James.

Magi walked into the room before Tim, saying "We shall."

When no one was around, James started laughing for minutes.

* * *

 **AN: Okay. 8/11/2016. Not the greatest. Sorry guys, been wrapped up in this game I started playing called WarioWare D.I.Y. May not be new, but it is fun. Some things to say:**

 **1) Can't wait to see your submissions in the Summer Vacation Writing Contest. If you don't know what it is, it is a contest ending on the 17th, so hurry. You can write any Smash Bros. story with a summer theme. Ratings are K to T. No Rated M stories. Any other rules can be found on it's page or on my profile.**

 **2) Thank you to Photoshop Flowey and QueenTasha7 for being judges in the above contest. I appreciate it.**

 **3) Who can see the call-back to one of my other stories. Hint: It was Behind the Scenes.**

 **With that out of the way, ciao!**


	7. Let The Ball Drop

**9:00PM, DECEMBER 31ST, 2016; TIME UNTIL MIDNIGHT: THREE HOURS**

James was rushing around the Mansion. He was praying that being in Dimension 13 slowed down time a little bit, or he would have no chance of everything being ready in time.

He had invited a few members from the Hall of Origin as well to the party - Arceus and Diancie, his two closer friends.

Now, just to figure out how to connect the damned 3D HD 62" TV to a channel from his home world - or ANY WORLD, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!

James finally got the channel connected to CBC, from his home dimension.

Finally.

Let the show begin.

* * *

 **9:08PM; TIME UNTIL MIDNIGHT: TWO HOURS, FIFTY-TWO MINUTES**

Mario and Luigi were on fireworks duty. Oddly enough, it seemed as though Mario was more scared of the fireworks then Luigi - then again, Mario had a bad tendency to set stuff on fire without his gloves, which he needed to take off to get everything set up.

Mario never noticed, but Luigi was smirking, as he shot bolts of lightning in the air.

* * *

 **9:30PM; TIME UNTIL MIDNIGHT: TWO HOURS, THIRTY MINUTES**

Peach and Zelda were chatting, just small talk, on the past year - the fourth Smash tournament had started, exciting both for starters. Peach's racing tournament earlier that year. Zelda was mentioning she was considering a wardrobe change. Blue, maybe.

* * *

 **11:55PM; TIME UNTIL MIDNIGHT: FIVE MINUTES**

It was almost a new year. Almost 2016... Five minutes to go.

James thought about everything that had happened.

He had a second home in **t** he Hall of Origin, he had finally become a fighter in the Smash tournament.

 **11:56PM**

He was a top tier fighter, at that. He had gotten so much done.

The new tournament had been started, the custom stages were finished - mostly, and he had even finished looking for the Book of Iwata.

 **11:57PM**

And soon - in a mere two minutes and fifty-two seconds, fifty-one, fifty, forty-nine, fort- **I** should stop counting the seconds, James thought.

What no one else knew was James' hidden ability. Oh well. Soon.

 **11:58PM**

James took a drink of his liquor. He smiled. He had his most potent, a liquor from 1942 Eldenor, imported straight from Hyrule.

His most potent, too.

He smiled, recalling **m** emories.

 **11:59:30PM**

Thirty seconds left. Then it would begin anew.

Twenty seconds left. James felt that this year would be the best.

Fifteen seconds. And in a few seconds, it would all begin.

Ten seconds. And end.

"FIVE! FOUR! THREE! TWO! ONE! HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Spectacularly.


	8. The Amazing Grace (by Shana Hager)

**The Amazing Grace**

 **(entirely written by Shana R. Hager)**

* * *

 **2014**

Today was the day Grace **L** arssen-Butter had waited for. She was finally part of the tournament she'd followed and idolized since she was a sophomore in college. At long last, she was a Smasher!

Grace, known to friends and loved ones as Gracie, was 35 years old. Her fiery red hair flowed past her shoulders, stopping just past her shoulder blades. She had emerald-green eyes which would flash whenever she felt a strong emotion. She was amazingly tall, 6'5", with an average build. Gracie was the kind of person you wanted to hang out with, a feisty young woman who set the latest trends and was often called upon to resolve quarrels.

Hoping to make a favorable first-impression on Master Hand, Gracie dolled her face up with makeup and slipped her willowy body into a bright green, one-shoulder dress. She packed a moderate-sized suitcase, ate a quick breakfast, and then took a last, loving look at her home. Hopefully, she'd be able to visit from time to time.

Her husband, Roland, came into the room. "I'm gonna miss you, Gracie," he said softly, kissing her lips.

Gracie melted into the kiss. "Me, too," she sighed. "Will you write?"

"Whenever I can," promised the brown-haired young man.

Gracie gripped the lapels of her hubby's white shirt and pulled him in for another, hotter kiss. Roland groaned, feeling himself stir to life in a familiar place.

"I'm proud of you," he said once the kiss ended. "I know you're gonna k **i** ck butt out there."

"Now that's the confidence I like," smiled Gracie, eyes twinkling. "Just know that in every fight, I'll be thinking of you...and the kids."

As if on cue, the two offspring suddenly appeared. Seventeen-year-old Zoe bit her lip to conceal her tears as she pulled Gracie into a hug. "I love you, Mom," she choked out, "even though I don't agree with you sometimes."

"I love you, too," sniffled Gracie, inhaling her daughter's scent.

"Yeah, Mom. We're praying for you," intoned fifteen-year-old Landon, tears trickling down his angular face as he joined in the embrace.

Landon and Zoe weren't Gracie's biological children. She and Roland had adopted them in 2007 after they were removed from an abusive household. But the duo had given them the love and care they'd previously been denied, and as far as they were concerned, blood had nothing to do with their tight bond.

Gracie kissed both kids on the cheek. "Listen to your dad," she sternly reminded them. "Stay in school. Keep up your grade **s**. And if you need me, I'll be just a phone call away."

"Okay," Zoe and Landon said in unison.

Gracie kissed her husband one last time. "I hear that MH televises the matches," she said softly, "so, you'll see me then."

"Good luck out there," said Roland. "Show those Smashers what you're made of!"

"Bye, Mom! Good luck! We love you!" shouted the kids.

Wearing a confident smile, Gracie took her suitcase and stepped out of her house and toward her car...toward her new life as a Smasher.

* * *

When Gracie arrived at the Smash Mansion with her bags, she went st **r** aight to the receptionist.

"Hello. I'd like to see Master Hand please," she said.

"Right this way. He's been expecting you," replied the receptionist.

The receptionist led the new Mii to a relatively big office with a portrait of a floating hand on the back wall. The actual hand was seated behind a desk.

"Hello, Gracie," boomed Master Hand. "It's nice to see you. Please, have a s **ea** t."

Gracie stepped into the office and plopped onto an ottoman.

"No, no, Gracie. Come up here in front of me. I, uh, want to see your face."

Gracie moved to the seat in front of the desk.

"Welcome to the tournament, Gracie," said Master Hand. "It's good to have you aboard. I pray that you enjoy yourself and make friends in Super Smash Brothers."

"Thank you, Master Hand."

"First order of business: go over a few rules. There is to be no fighting outside of scheduled matches except for sparring in the Training Area. As for the matches themselves, there are two types, stock and time. A schedule will be posted on the bulletin board daily with the opponent or opponents as well as the type. Also be on the lookout for Team Battles in order to sign up for a team. I expect you to arrive for transport to the appointed stage 10-15 minutes prior to the match. During the match, you shall follow my instructions at all times, protect yourself at all times and exhibit good sportsmanship at all times. When I say 'Go', the match will start. When I say 'Game' or 'Time', the match is over. Following the match, you will report to Dr. Mario's office to treat any injuries you may have sustained."

"Understood."

"Second order of business is to get you set up as a Mii Fighter. What class would you like to be: Gunner, Braw **l** er or Swordfighter?"

"Brawler."

"Would you like default or custom special moves?"

"Default."

"Would you like a slot in the Stage Builder to create your own stage?"

"Yes, I do."

"What size slot would you like?"

"Medium, please."

"All right. You are welcome to shop at our many commissaries for clothing, snacks and other effects. One of our Mii helpers will escort you to your room and assist you with unpacking."

Gracie smiled. "Thank you so much!"

This was going to be great.

* * *

 _ **W QK IIAW, DW AJ SUC HWJCH,**_  
 _ **TTX'A LIYE AZEWI AIWW AGFR UYQCJC**_  
 _ **JIQEG LNS CSLXLVVS, ESMF ZX WTWT KKERE**_  
 _ **NWKDMC MLZJZIRD HQDC FE EZZF RTACE**_


	9. For Whom The Bell Tolls (w Shana Hager)

**For Whom The Bell Tolls**

* * *

 **2015**

"For the last time, it's out of my hand. I have already finalized my decision." Said the white glowing right hand. His counterpart was staring out the window at a cloud.

"But that's not fair!" fumed Grace.

"Giving one of my Smashers a glaring advantage over the others wouldn't be fair either, so your point...?"

"Oh, come on! It's not that bad!" protested Grace.

"She's right, MH," James chimed in. "It gives him a bit of an edge, but that's about it."

"You may think that because you're friends with him. But what about everyone else?" challenged Master Hand.

The two Miis glared at Master Hand. They had been arguing over this for far too long, ever since the glove even came up with the idea. The fourth tournament was different from the others due to the frequent release of "update patches" - weird rules that one is literally forced to follow, want to or not. These patches applied changes to the Smashers' playstyle and recently allowed the addition of more fighters and stages. On the day of each patch's release, notes regarding how the patch for affect each character would be distributed to everyone. The words "buff" and "nerf" were firmly ensconced in a Smasher's vocabulary. Some of these buffs and nerfs emerged from internal as well as external pressure. The change currently being debated was mainly the product of internal pressure.

"You've got to believe us! Luigi does not deserve to be nerfed!" Grace stated hotly. "I've seen his combos myself! Heck, almost everyone has a combo game! What makes his so **nightmar** ish?"

"Over the past month or so, I have received numerous complaints regarding Luigi's down throw," MH calmly explained. "Concerned Smashers have come to me asking me to take a look at it. After personally observing some of his matches, I came to the conclusion that the move is grossly overpowered."

"Give me a break!" roared James. "Saying Luigi is overpowered is saying that I rarely drink!" Off of Grace's look, he added, somewhat sheepishly, "What? That was all I could think of at this given moment."

"Master Hand, the three of us know which of the Smashers would say such things," said Grace. "Coming to your office and ranting about Luigi is strongly motivated."

"Yeah! This is another one of Koopa, Ganondorf and Wario's schemes!" James led the charge.

"Well, they've fueled most of the complaints…" started Master Hand.

" **E** xactly," the Miis said in unison.

"MH, can't you see they're just putting things in your head?" James asked pleadingly. "These guys hate Luigi and want to torment him...by any means necessary."

"His combos may be powerful, but not powerful enough to necessitate a nerf," added Grace.

"What, so I'm supposed to disregard the concerns of my Smashers?"

"No, that's not what we're saying," said Grace. "MH, listen to us. Those three are manipulating you to accomplish their own ends. Luigi's combo game is as fine as it is. We're asking you for the final time...don't do this!"

"Grace, James, I've quarreled with you over the past month over this, and it's getting on my nerves. My decision to apply a nerf to Luigi's down throw is final, and that's that. In order to keep this tournament fair and balanced, some advantages must be sacrificed. Good day, you two." The hand said, snapping his fingers in a simple sign of please leave .

James cursed in Kasarian and stormed off. Grace gave MH a very dirty look and stalked out after him.

"What are we gonna do now?" asked James once they were outside.

"I don't know, but when he gets those notes, he's gonna be so upset," sighed Grace.

"At least we tried to help," James said consolingly. "Say, care for a drink?"

Grace smiled. "Sure."

* * *

"Wow! He's amazing!" cried Grace as she watched the battle from the viewing area.

"Didn't I tell you?" winked Mario.

"I'd love to spar with him," murmured the redhead. "Someone with that much energy would really keep me going."

"Why spar when you could battle him for real?" teased Mario. "I'll see if I can arrange something, shall I?"

"Thanks, M," said Grace.

It was a few weeks into her life as a Smasher. She'd checked into her room, figured out her way around the Smash Mansion and necked with as many Smashers as she could. Kirby had been her first opponent, and she'd been impressed by his Copy Abilities and his cuteness. She also started brainstorming ideas for her custom stage. So far, inspiration hadn't struck. Until now.

The redheaded Mii sat in the stands beside Mario, hardly daring to tear her eyes away, as a certain man in green took on the massive Donkey Kong. The King of the Jungle was among the mightiest on the roster, all of his attacks bringing serious pain, but look at Luigi! Just look at him! He'd been clubbed with giant hands, fists, feet and headbutts, but he was still in the game. But that alone didn't have Grace transfixed.

It was those combos, those limitless, unstoppable combos, popping out of Luigi's pocket whenever he executed a down throw. His skills had improved vastly in between tournaments, allowing for stronger versatility when it came to combos and mixups. One of his frequent d-throw follow-ups was a string of f-airs, but he also had his d-air, u-air and n-air. He'd also use his fireballs to set up for re-grabs. He could make combo strings last for so long, bringing them to a powerful finish with his up-B. And there were times when he could mix up with both aerial and grounded Cyclones.

Grace had lost time on how long she'd been here, watching Luigi and DK go head-to-head. She just knew that she liked what she was seeing. A limber, green-clad, sweat-slick body dancing about the stage or bounding through the air, pecking and hacking away at the dong-expanding simian. Dodging swipes and punches, the Spinning Kong move, and keeping his balance when DK started hammering at the ground. Some blows would bring him down, but never out. He'd retaliate with fireballs before going in for a grab.

And his eyes, oh, his eyes. Eyes were called the windows to the soul, but when it came to Luigi's eyes...they bore more than just his soul on the battlefield. They embodied his spirit, the spirit, the spirit of the underdog to get up and fight another day! Grace saw passion and brio in those blue eyes, intensity which grew and pulsed as the minutes went by. Nothing crushed this guy, not even a grinning, tie-wearing ape!

Everything, from the eyes to the pink-flushed face to the sweat and blood and aggressive whistling breaths, Grace would take with her that day. And she'd use those details to conjure images in her mind. A pillar of green fire against the night sky. A fiery-haired young woman in a green sports bra and green pants, dancing passionately on a circular table, green eyes flashing. A snare drum, rapping out a persistent tempo as other instruments joined in, the music increasing in volume and building in tension until its release via the thundering bass drums, timpani and kettledrums and the crashing cymbals and tam-tams. Visions of movement and raw, animalistic power and fire and passion. And it was through those visions that Grace finally got the idea for her stage.

Viridia.

* * *

In a private table at a pricey restaurant, Wario, Ganondorf and Koopa sat, eating their meal and talking with another Mii named Tim.

"Let's all toast," said Tim, raising his glass, "to a new beginning."

"Gladly," said the King of Evil, also raising his glass as his two buddies joined him.

"I take it everything is arranged," smiled Koopa.

"Indeed," smirked Tim. "Luigi's glory days are near an end...along with a few others. Diddy's Hoo-Hah, for example, is also getting the axe, along with Marth and Lucina's Tipper."

"Boy, you are ruthless," laughed Ganondorf. "We need more people like you."

"Wah-ha-ha! I can't wait to see the look on his face when he reads those patch notes!" guffawed Wario, twirling around a forkful of garlic spaghetti. "Thanks, Tim, ol' pal! We couldn't have done it without ya!"

"When you three came knocking, I saw an opportunity to implement my master plan," winked Tim. "Oh, those stupid Smashers. They won't know what's coming!"

"It also doesn't hurt that MH played right into our hands," chortled Koopa. "You should've seen the thoughtful expression on his face as we railed about Greenie! It practically had 'nerf' written all over it!"

"The patch will be released tomorrow," said Tim. "As soon as we leave, I want you all to find anything and everything which proves our association and destroy it. Letters, emails, chat transcripts, video and audio recordings. Everything must go!"

"No problem," said Wario.

"We'll get right on it," said Koopa.

"No one will ever know," promised Ganon.

"I deposited the money in your bank accounts," said Tim. "Thanks for your invaluable assistance."

Koopa raised his glass again. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you," he said. "Call us anytime."

* * *

September 30, 2015. A date which would live in infamy. It dawned as an ordinary, blue-sky day with temperatures in the mid-to-high 60s. The Smashers woke up, stretched and freshened themselves up, a certain man in green unaware of the unpleasant surprise about to be sprung on him.

Meanwhile, hard copies of the patch notes spewed out of the printer in MH's office. Fifty-plus copies, to be exact. That was a whole lot of paper. Just saying. At least the printing was double-sided.

Each copy was fed through an automatic stapler, which bound the pages together with lightning-quick precision. Then, the copies were sorted into two piles, for the two Miis tasked with delivering them.

Of course, it had to be James and Grace who were selected to distribute the patch notes. It was MH's way of teaching them a little lesson for getting on his case about this all month long. To the Original Miis, this was an insult to injury. One of them had to break the news of the nerf to their favorite man in green.

Grace and James slung the bags full of patch notes over their shoulders and exchanged sympathetic looks.

"Well, here we are," sighed James. "Let's get this over with."

"I'll do it," said Grace.

"You mean…?"

"Yeah. I'll give him the patch notes. Diddy throwing peanuts at you will be enough as it is."

James smiled. "Thanks, Grace. I have a feeling that I'm gonna need a stiff one after I'm finished."

"I'm with you there," sighed Grace.

"Alright, you two," said MH, floating over. "It's time."

"Good luck, James," said Grace.

"Good luck, Gracie," replied James.

The two of them walked out of the office and then split ways to deliver the patch notes.

* * *

As long as she lived, Grace Larssen-Butter would always remember the exact time she arrived at Luigi's door. 9:11 a.m. The journey had been a short one, only stopping to knock on doors and give slightly drowsy Smashers their copies of the patch notes. She'd tried every trick she could think of to delay this moment, but this was Fate, and Fate was an unbeatable opponent.

The redhead crossed herself and breathed a short prayer before knocking on the door.

It swung open, revealing a smiling, well-rested Luigi. "Gracie! Good morning!" he said cheerily.

Grace managed a smile. "Good morning, L," she replied. Man, that smile! It was so adorable! Why, oh, why did she volunteer to wipe it from his face?

Clearing her throat, she continued, "Here are the notes for the new patch." She held out Luigi's copy, and it burned her fingers.

"Thanks," said Luigi, taking his copy and tucking it under his arm. "See you later."

"Yeah. See ya," said Grace.

As soon as the door closed, Grace walked away as fast as she could.

9:12 a.m. was when she heard Luigi's outraged cry of anguish...

* * *

Grace met James at the Main Hall, and the latter looked a mess. Covered in bruises, peanut shells in his hair. His facial expression was one of a child denied his favorite dessert.

"Well, uh, that went well," Grace said awkwardly.

"Yeah. I see yours went better," James said quietly.

The two winced at another exclamation of outrage and disbelief from Luigi.

"I'll take that stiff drink right about now," shuddered Grace. "Would you care to join me?"

"I thought you'd never ask," replied James.

* * *

WISLL OHVVVANLW, X PVVVANLW  
FID'W JWXSW'E QLMGM TPZTTDEEQYO


	10. Mewtwo Strikes Back!

**Hey guys, Joseph here! So... How are you guys? Listen, if any of you have written a TG story before, I would request a beta reader. If you , or anyone you know, might be willing to beta read a TG story, please say so. Thanks in advance.**

 **Next reviews:**

 **BlackRainStar (chapter 3): welp. it was worth a shot. yeah, nothing you do can help them. but hey. look on the bright side. you've got a while till bayonetta comes to the mansion. but when she gets here... the smashers are going to have a bad time. (Undertale references, there.)**

 **Guest (chapter 3): Is a powerful opponent, no denying it. He can easily defeat his foe without remorse... Unless he comes to battle drunk, and his drinking habits seem to be getting the better of him. He kind of has a 50 percent win rate... Give or take.**

 **Photoshop Flowey (chapter 4): -_- Out of ALL the fighters in the game to defeat James via meteor, I choose the Doc... Who is one of the only two fighters who doesn't. Have. A METEOR SMASH! Ugh... Next!**

 **Guest (chapter 4): First, I misspelt I guess. Oops. And second, no Photoshop Flowey is right. Doc doesn't have a meteor in his fair. Doc, alongside Lucario, is one of the only two fighters without a meteor. Mario has a meteor, yes, but the Doc instead has high diagonal knockback.**

 **RedFiend (various): Quite a bit here. First off, should've said so about James fainting from wine. In actually he was drinking _quite_ a bit, just skipping out on mentioning that detail. That or he drank a lot before hand. Could be seen either way. Second, yes. Chapter 3 and two Smashers are almost murdered. No one ever said I was safe. About other Smashers thinking he is OP, it was a script they read. Falcon eludes at this mentioning James is conceited. Should've pointed that out. Maybe sometime I could edit it.**

 **Next, this is the second time I've have written this chapter. I deleted a document for a story that got scrapped... But I accidently deleted the doc with my Uncommon Sense update. Oops.**

 **Next, who here is excited about Darkrai and Scizor for Pokken? I am so happy. I've known for a while, but I haven't gotten around to mentioning it. Honestly, I knew they were fighters before the reveals - or at least Darkrai - leaked info revealing a Pokémon (either Support or fighter), with many moves and a file titled EX... It was labeled something like _pkx_491_dark_hole_. 491 is Darkrai's Pokédex number, Dark Hole is the Japanese name for Dark Void... Yeah. I called it, everyone! Didn't see Scizor coming, though. Thought DLC Support or something. Empoleon is next, though. Arceus last? I can hope.**

 **Wow, tons of author's notes, and we STiLL aren't done. Next, the OC Magi Magic (property of QueenTasha7) is being scrapped, as she delayed the results of the Uncommon Sense by huge amounts. However, due to having an OC he wanted, to replace it is Photoshop Flowey's Steven Mii. Don't when he'll be added... Also, CrashGuy01 won the Welcome Back Writing Contest I mentioned earlier. His OC Adam will**

 **Next, the Nintendo Switch. Awesome, eh, guys? So far, we could see Skyrim (freaking SKYRIM! On Nintendo! They're trolling us, I think.), a new 3D Mario, a new MarioKart, a new Splatoon, some NBA game, and Breath of the Wild. Hopefully, the Smash rumours are true too. Hopefully. I swear, I was considering getting a 3DS, but the Switch burnt that idea. Also, for those who aren't aware, Nintendo confirmed a new handheld, previously known as the Switch. Maybe I should've said that part first...**

 **I think that is it. Here we go, hope you enj-OH MY FREAKING GOD, MORE AUTHOR'S NOTES, FOR THE LOVE OF HILARY DUFF ON A STICK! Calm down... anyway, do you guys think I should do a Genocide Playthrough of Undertale on my channel at some point? I did Neutral and True Pacifist... but... I suck. I'll have a bad time, even against the one who only wants to strike me down. (Good spoiler prevention there, eh?) Of course, NEO never stands a chance.**

 **Last - I think - is that soon I'll be doing a little arc, where each character gets a chapter where THEY are the main character. I hope it works. I might considering getting help from others for the chapters.**

 **I think that's it... Yep. NOTHING ELSE. Right...?**

 **Well, that's good. Here we-**

 **WHAT DO YOU MEAN I FORGOT SOMETHING, MASTER HAND!? NGAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! WHY SHOULD I TELL THEM THE AUTHOR'S NOTES, WHEN YOU'RE ABOUT TO DIE!**

* * *

 **Mewtwo Strikes Back**

* * *

 _I am the ultimate life form..._

 _And nothing will stand in my way._

The person thinking this was none other than the Genetic Pokémon. It was...

 **MEWTWO**

 **STRIKES BACK!**

 _Let's see if James will let me back into the Mansion when I hold everyone's life on the line... Heh heh..._

* * *

 _TELEPORT!_

Mewtwo ended up in the Kalos Pokémon League, one of the entrance points for the Smash Tournament.

 _Geez, is this undefended or what? I could warp in here with my eyes closed..._ Mewtwo paused. _Hang on, that wouldn't be hard for any Pokémon that can learn Teleport. It's a mental effect, not something mundane like untying ropes._ He felt a dark energy surround him. _All aside, time for me to strike back._

* * *

Mewtwo teleported into a battle with Samus and Pikachu, milliseconds after Pikachu was hit with a deathly blow. Now Samus Vs. Mewtwo, it seemed. Mewtwo ran towards the shocked bounty hunter, and proceeded to attack her a Dark Pulse.

 _How does it feel to be the bottom of the tier list, Aran? Heheheheh... Heh._

* * *

Mewtwo was running towards the Wii Fit Trainer, Alicia. Mewtwo blasted her aside with a dash attack - also a Dark Pulse.

 _Come on, I thought you would run!_

* * *

Mewtwo looked to his left and right, seeing Palutena and Zelda. They were both running at him at the same time. Mewtwo would've sighed if he had a mouth. Just before they hit, Mewtwo teleported, causing the two to hit each other. Mewtwo mentally facepalmed.

 _Seriously? You didn't see that coming?_ Mewtwo wasn't being sarcastic here. _Wow... just... wow._

* * *

Mewtwo was stationary, rising his hand slowly, one of Olimar's Pikmin betraying its old master for Mewtwo.

 _You know, the Pikmin reminds me of myself... Even harming its master..._ Mewtwo thought, irritating by the fact the blue Pikmin, here being named Aqua, bowed to Mewtwo on his shoulder, hitting a _tiny_ bit in process. _Oh what the hell, I'll keep him._

* * *

Mewtwo may be nice to blue Pikmin, but not to blue balloons.

 _You're the Killager, eh?_ Mewtwo asked. Villager nodded.

This was proven as Mewtwo completely _annihilated_ the blue balloons Villager was using to recover. It really sucked to be the Villager for about three seconds.

 _Guess the Killager got Killaged._

* * *

Mewtwo was in the middle of a jungle, admiring how James made it have multiple layers to fight in.

 _James outdid himself._ Mewtwo 'mused', remembering how James builds the stages.

Luigi was in front of him. Mewtwo grabbed him. Now Luigi was above him. Mewtwo jumped up to Luigi, knocking him into a cannon.

The poor plumber got fired out of the cannon, hitting a stone wall from nowhere.

 _Yes, James really has outdone himself._ Mewtwo said, 'smiling' at Luigi's misfortune.

* * *

Mewtwo looked at Goldeen. Flopping there, useless.

Stupid.

Weak.

Helpless.

Mewtwo was vaguely aware of the Dark Pulse-Shadow Ball combination forming in his hand.

Stupidly useless.

Imbecile, clueless.

Foolishy...

Foolishy...

 _DIE!_

Foolishly lifeless. As Mewtwo blasted Goldeen with Shadow Pulse, launching it far away, liking to its death.

Mewtwo smiled. _Better._

* * *

Mewtwo looked at Duck Hunt.

Duck Hunt Dog and the stupid bird.

Mewtwo charged in a Shadow Ball, thinking of all the times dogs barked at him when he was young. He also remembered a Poochyena trying to kill him. _Not that anyone needs to know it nearly won..._ Mewtwo thought.

The Duck Hunt Duo ran at Mewtwo, but noticing the Shadow Ball, they then tried to flee.

They failed.

No one noticed Mewtwo cover his mouth, laughing.

* * *

Mega Man was trying to blast Mewtwo in oblivion. Mewtwo decided to vanish, confusing the Blue Bomber.

 _Turn around._ Mewtwo said.

* * *

A Charizard was flying in the air, but Mewtwo jumped up, Confusing the Charizard hopelessly with Confusion.

 _To come wel Soon mide..._ Mewtwo said, unsure when he had first heard that.

* * *

Ganondorf chased after Mewtwo, trying to get vengeance for what happened during Melee. Mewtwo remembered the day fondly. Gigs Bowser, Ganondorf, and him were fighting. Until Mewtwo _intentionally_ knocked the Gerardo King offstage, after Disabling the Gerardo King. Mewtwo laughed as Ganondorf's chase came up short.

Mewtwo laughed evilly Disabling Ganondorf again.

 _I've missed that._

* * *

Greninja had used Sustitute on Shadow Ball, but Mewtwo countered the counter by countering it with not Counter, but countering it with Confusion to counter the counter.

Mewtwo then hit Greninja with a Beam Sword rather quickly after. The kill was permitted.

 _That counted, I guess._

* * *

 _Mewtwo, riding a Gogoat, ran heroically into battle, blasting a laser of impending doom readily at the feeble dipstick mortals who thought it was smart to stand in front of him._ Mewtwo thought to himself, doing exactly what he said, trying to think of something to write in his autobiography.

 _Oh yeah, and then he ran over the IDIOTS THAT DIDN'T GET OUT OF MY GODDAMN WAY! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA I LOVE THIS GUN!_

* * *

Ness dodged an incoming Mewtwo, throwing a Pokeball down. Gene sect was inside, causing to Mewtwo to look at it oddly.

 _Do we know each other? I feel we've met before..._

* * *

Mewtwo was minding his own business, when he encountered it.

A pink, fluffy being that acted all nice and friendly, only to be inside the pink ball of fur a demon of pure damnation, tormenting Mewtwo's entire existence.

Mew giggled, and flew away in a bubble.

 _I'm watching you, Mew. I know how evil you are._

* * *

Mewtwo laughed, transforming into Mega Mewtwo Y, charging in his special move, Psystrike, hitting Reflet - BOOM! - Dr. Mario - BOOM! - and Wario - BOOM!

Mewtwo de-Mega-Evolved, laughing, his eyes gleaming.

* * *

James smiled at Mewtwo's antics.

"He isn't aware that he was originally invited in the first place, is he?" James smiled. He had sent Mewtwo invites for the last tournament too. Then it hit James.

Oh yeah. Cinnabar Island is destroyed.

"That's why the Post Office looked at me like a lunatic..." James said, realization dawning on him.


	11. Tale Of Two Tactians

**Tale Of Two Tactians**

* * *

It was 2015. The Original Mii Fighter, who was trying to avoid an upcoming problem, was too occupied to help others. In Smash, all the fighters had amazing luxuries - even if James got the best, stage designer and music director and all that - along with the amazing matches to keep everyone happy. However, for James, he had a certain restlessness due to a small detail. Both of them were coming.

Okay, okay. Enough Tale Of Two Cities paraphrasing, let's get on with it.

James was arguing with Master Hand - well, and Crazy hand too, but Crazy wasn't helping anyone.

"Listen, do you know how hard it was to get the two Villagers? The Wii Fit Trainers?" James asked the Hand of Creation. "The only reason they didn't murder each other outright was because they knew there was a lot of people from their worlds that looked like them."

"Actually, Charlie tried to kill Lucy anyway." Crazy pointed out the male Villager's homicidal tendencies, being helpful for the first time in about twenty minutes.

"But those two? Not. The. Faintest. IDEA!" James continued, ignoring Crazy.

"Listen, James. We need variety. Fans will get board, all the content being the same. BUT THIS! Two Robins, different skill sets, but same arsenal. The ratings..." Master Hand countered.

"The ratings? Don't you remember how you almost went bankrupt after near-deaths after the Tabuu Incident?" James counter-countered.

"THAT WAS GODDAMN TABUU!" Master Hand counter-counter-countered. "THIS IS TWO ROBINS!"

James sighed, before counter-counter-counter-countering. "Have you seen how strong the Avatars are? They will destroy each other - Lucina, too, if she gets in the flashpoint! Chrom already didn't like us! Do you want to get sued six feet underground?!"

Master Hand had enough. "Fine! Don't like it, keep the two apart until YOU explain." James sputtered.

"ME! WHY... OOT DNIM A FLAH A EVAH I, DNAH RETSAM..." James spoke in Kasarian, growling all the while. "Fine. Just keep the two apart anyway you can."

Master Hand would have facepalmed if he had a face. "James, did you check the room locations?" James snapped his fingers, pulling a copy of said map from Hammerspace, an look of aversion on his face.

When he looked at the map, Master Hand was pinned to wall by James' sword, Unremitting. James cussed a swear in Kasarian. "Derosnec!" James pulled Unremitting back, looked at the Hand of Creation with a look of loathing. "Why, just... Em yhw? Why, did you put a boy and a girl in the same room? To sleep?"

Master Hand looked offended. "You think I didn't notice? I mean, what, you think the two Robins will have s-"

"FINE! I GET IT!" James said. Master Hand chuckled.

" ?" James growled, in voice lower by several baritones.

"You remind me of Ash Upton, sometimes..." Master Hand pointed out. James merely growled in response.

* * *

At about noon, a person arrived at Smash Mansion. He was wearing a black cloak, with gold accents. His hair was white, and he seemed to have a jagged sword sheathed. He had hazel brown eyes, and a soft smile both sincere and deceptive. This was the male Robin. He went inside, meeting James. He smiled warmly, even if on the inside he was swearing at the Hand of Creation. He started to give Robin a tour of Smash Mansion, even if on a strict schedule. It was simple, really. Give Robin-M the tour, send him to talk to Master Hand while he guided Robin-F, send her to his room, set up a battle, force the two of them to collaborate against him, hope they put their differences aside - and, well, if they didn't, at least Lucina wouldn't get caught in the cross-

Lucina.

James swore out loud, alerting Robin. The male tactician looked at him.

"Forgot something. Important meeting. Late-arriving fighters. Like, um... don't tell anyone, but an old Fire Emblem representative is returning. Don't say a word about it. But I forgot, there's a meeting about him right now." James bid Robin-M farewell, and he bolted.

In all honesty, he wasn't lying. There was in fact a meeting about Roy, right now - but James never said he had to be at that meeting. He quickly grabbed Tim on his way, and told Tim to give Robin-M the tour - AND QUICKLY. The Mii wasn't sure what was wrong, but he did so anyway.

James ran to the front door, cursing loudly in Kasarian. He opened the door, seeing Robin-F, and Robin's daughter - Lucina. Damn it. He had forgotten about Lucina...

He tried to rewrite the plan as smoothly as he could. "W-welcome." James stammered. He had a new backup plan.

"L-look, I want to give you a tour right now-" James said, blatantly lying, ", but I really don't have time. Lucina, your room is 23, Robin, come with me, with need to talk."

James started leading Robin-F to the Masterpiece Arcade. The tactician looked amazed. "What kind of arcane spells are these?" The mage asked. James shrugged the question off, instead muttering a spell. To open Hammerspace. Cruel, yes. But did he have another option, no. Blame Lucina. The Original Mii thought.

Robin looked at the newly formed rift, the pink space between glowing brightly. "My, what's this? A secret do-"

James shoved Robin-F in, answering. "A place where you are staying for about an hour, have fun!"

Robin-F tripped to the ground, and didn't manage to get out. Her thrown Levin Sword did, however, faintly slashing James's left shoulder. James winced, and picked up the weapon. He looked at the sword in shock. He had it... Surely he could replicate it...

Two down, five to go. James then ran to find out where Robin-M was. Where was he?

James found Tim alone in the hallway, a candle in one hand, a box of matches in the other. "Tim?"

The said Mii Fighter jumped, dropping the candle. He looked at James with a vindictive look. "Listen, Tim, I need your help. Where's Robin?"

Tim shrugged. "Left him alone I think ten minutes ago." James growled, swearing once more in Kasarian, Tim looking offended. "Was that directed at me?"

"No, it wasn't, Ti-I was speaking Kasarian. How did you understand me?" James asked.

"Well, it sounded like a foreign swear, to me." Tim lied.

"Listen, I need your help." James said, worried. "Get to the battle starter. Set up a battle... um... Delfino Plaza, three players, no items." Tim nodded, and left his candle and matches on the ground.

"Time to find Robin." James said, talking about the male tactician.

* * *

It was about twenty minutes later. Robin-F stumbled out of Hammerspace, landing on smooth stone. She looked around. Water, buildings, grass and sand. Where was she?

She also saw someone who looked vaguely like her - unknown to her, male Robin. Before she could get a better look though, she saw him. James, spinning the Levin Sword. Her Levin Sword.

She pulled out the Bronze Sword and her Arcfire Tome, the other person pulling out what looked like... Nosferatu? Really? That was better saved for later.

The unknown ran towards James, and tried to hit him with Nosferatu, but James twisted around, smirking. The attack missed by the decent margin. "You know," the Original Mii said, "dancing is a lot like fighting." He said. What better why to introduce them to the weirdness of Smash, thought James, then a literal dance battle?

Both fighters looked confused, and if James didn't believe they were the same, he would at least think related by now. Same face, same look of confusion. It was funny, really.

James grabbed the unknown's hand, and twirled him around, hitting him with Levin Sword near the end of little twirl. The unknown jumped, pulling out a Levin Sword of their own. "Say, mind if I call you Reflet?" James said to Robin-F. The female tactician shook her head.

"My name is Robin." She said, and the third person gasped. He took down his hood, revealing his face to Robin-F. He was Robin... The same eyes, face... The tomes, and sword... This man was her...

"Look, you two! Introductions later! You two are a team against me, team attack off! You two have to stop me - or you lose!" James simply and frankly. He jumped at Robin-F, and slashed with the Levin Sword. He blocked with the Bronze Sword, and Nosferatu-ed him. Through the pain he muttered "Koob eht ni kcirt tsedlo... Augh..." He broke free from the dark hold. "C-clever." He looked at Robin-F, impressed. Before throwing the Levin Sword with enough force to embed Robin-F's cloak in the floor. Which, you know, trapped her and all. The way the sword trapped her, she couldn't even pull out said weapon. James looked around. He knew what to to do. He muttered an old spell from the Book of Iwata, and the magic surged. Or maybe splashed?

Robin-M helped Robin-F get up as the water on Delfino supernaturally covered the floor.

"Wouldn't want to hit me," James pointed out, "because, after all, we all know what happens when water and electric mix." He smirked.

Robin-F and -M had a plan quickly though. Robin-F ran up to James, tripping him with the Bronze Sword. And Robin-M used Thoron.

James was grumbling about them cheating for that victory ten minutes later.

"Hang, Robin... female Robin - mean, mind if I call you Reflet, 'cause you know, two Robins, and all..."

Robin-F nodded - and boy, am I glad to simply call them Robin and Reflet, I've been planning that for a week now - so much easier.

There was also three other fighters. "These are all from Fire Emblem - your home world. Marth, Robin - Robin, Marth. Reflet, Ike, - Ike, Reflet. Lucina, Robin - Robin, Lucina." James started, his voice getting faster, as he forced everyone to shake hands. "Reflet, Lucina, Lucina Reflet. Marth Reflet, Reflet Marth, Ike Robin Robin Ike RobinRefletRefletRobin!" He finally said. He bowed. "I am James." He finished rather slowly, with a grand bow. Marth facepalmed.

"What?" James asked.

"You did that with the Mario series too." Marth lamely replied. James growled, and stormed off, something about jokes can never been used too much.

* * *

 **The sword Unremitting is named after the world unremitting.**  
 **Kasarian in this chapter is spoken by speaking English backwards. Feel like I need to say 'this chapter', cause it will be inconsistent.**  
 **Ash Upton is from the webcomic Misfile.**  
 **Lot of references...**

 **20-15 6-9-7-8-20 15-18 14-15-20 20-15 6-9-7-8-20, 20-8-1-20 9-19 20-8-5 17-21-5-19-20-9-15-14.**


	12. The Pie Is A Lie

**The Pie Is A Lie**

* * *

James was trying to prepare for the anniversary of the first ever Smash Brothers match, the infamous Duel Of Hyr **u** le.

His intentions were a large pie with the Hyrule Castle stage designed, three-dimensional and everything. Some coloured whipped cream, cinnamon-butterscotch base. It would be great.

There was just one, small, ever-so-slightly issue stopping James from making the greatest pie ever.

He had no clue how to cook.

Okay, maybe not so small.

James needed help, and, as such, posted a bulletin asking for help making a pie. Oddly, most likely a prank, someone wrote down the name a robot, saying they did a cooking show in the past. James sighed. Pranksters.

He got a handful of names.

Kirby and Dedede, who had been banned in the kitchen since Melee. No way.

Meta Knight, who had anger management issues, and an allergy to icing.

Captain Falcon. James shuddered, PTSD coming back to him - Pie-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

And Reflet, the **n** ewcomer... James sighed. Who else was an option? Besides, he could learn about Reflet. Little did they note, James took a slight fancy to tha-no, he was dating Diancie. Right? Did Diancie know they were dating...?

James was still wondering if this was cheating on his unsaid-girlfriend when Reflet arrived at noon.

"Hey, Reflet." he said.

"Hiya." the tactician magician replied.

"So, um, I have the recipe." James said. A cinnamon-butterscotch pie. He knew this would be good - he hoped, anyway.

This is called dramatic irony, an interesting occurrence. Simply put, **d** ramatic irony is when a person makes a harmless remark, and someone else who hears it knows something that makes the remark have a different, and usually unpleasant, meaning. For instance, if you said out loud, "I can't wait to eat the cookie I ordered," and there were people around who knew that the cookie was poisoned and that you would die as soon as you took a bite, your situation would be one of dramatic irony. James believing the pie would turn out good in this case would be dramatic irony, in the benefit of you and me.

James started off by opening the first ingredient on the list.

"11 over 3 cups? That would be..." James did the math mentally. "Three cups... two over thre **e**?" Reflect shrugged.

"That what it seems...?" The statement came put more out like a question - or was it a question to begin with?

"Welp, what the hell?" James said. "A cup or more won't hurt." Dramatic irony.

Reflect got the salt, and sugar. "1/3, and 1/4 cups..." Reflet said - I hate to say she got those backwards. Honestly, for generally clever people, this was a very unfortunate turn of events.

"Hmm... wait, aren't buttercups poisonous?" James asked, after reading the page? "Listen; 1/2 cold butter cups. I think it meant cups of butter, not butte **r** cups..." Okay, at least James didn't fall into that typo. Seriously, who wrote that cookbook? A dyslexci?

One egg yolk was easy enough to do, luckily, as was the cold water and vanilla extract. Okay, so, the pie crust has way too much flour, off amounts of salt and sugar, and nothing is in the right order... Not too too bad... Right?

Wait, would that be dramatic...

Who am I kidding? This will be bad.

They put **t** he floury crust into the oven, set for 20 minutes. At the wrong temperature. Great.

* * *

Okay, now the actual filling. God, this pie would torture someone with no taste buds at this rate...

James and Reflet were now onto the filling. On that note, the cookbook typed in filing. Somebody sue this writer.

James and Reflet added the butter, before **a** dding the milk. Heavy cream, brown sugar, water, corn starch, and cinnamon. Unfortunately, due to a very bad typo, the recipe SHOULD have called for nine egg yolks. It SAID none eggs.

Great. Just great. After letting the pie bake, cool, etcetera, they decided to put whipped cream on, and serve to the Mansion.

Reflet was feeling good, while James' ego inflated about double. Unti **l** the first person took a bite.

Okay, to put this in perspective, Kirby would likely be able to eat literal garbage and like it. This pie? Kirby immediate response was to scrunch up using face and spit his section of pie out. Various other Smashers treated the pie was poison, uranium, or a full-out nuclear bomb.

James - saving before hand - and Reflet took out one bite of each of their sections. James gagged, and took to LOADing the save state. The taste was still there. That pie was not food - it was poison, from the depths of Hell. James sighed. The past time he ate food THIS bad... Never. This wasn't food, after all. This was a powdered death trap.

The moral of the story - keep James and Reflet out of the kitch **e** n.

* * *

 _ **NUH XZFE HMFY FSDX, WSIH NOP ZL RTKBG**_  
 _ **HRUEEDW JBZII, XNO SZ ALKYMS**_  
 _ **L AIEOH KAAE RI BQI TTN QMR**_  
 _ **NOP JXT QSL PKEGMEC WCKWC-JBX**_


	13. L is for Lethal (with Shana Hager)

**Hey, guys! Joseph here! This story was primarily written by Shana Hager, famous for her Luigi stories. The Year of Luigi is over, yes... But the Era of Luigi has only just began.** **L̟̀̑̈ͧ̚͡U̧͛I̙̞̻ͣ̌͒̚G̢̗͇͈͉̭̑̂I͕͉̗̙̜̱̾̌ ͙͙̮̙ͥF͙̖̳͉̠͉͊ͭ̐̀Ó̜̘͍͕̺͎̈̃ͥ̀ͅR̺͇̺̱͓̤ͤ͟E̶͈̻͎̖̳ͯ̏ͫV͖̩̘̪ͣ̍ͮ̄͆͗̀E̞̪̜͖̩̹R͙̜̭̖̱͛ͦ̒̉̈́͆͂!̷̫̩̬̫̳͔͖́̽͂̓**

* * *

 **L is for Lethal**

* * *

"Is he crazy?"  
"They'll devour him!"  
"Is he asking for a death wish?"  
"He's no match for them!"  
"He needs to think about what he's doing!"  
Pessimism. Negativity. That was the immediate reaction upon learning of the challenge Luigi accepted earlier that morning. He was to be involved in a three-on-one against three heavyweight opponents later that afternoon. And those three didn't particularly care for him, either.  
"Poor guy-"  
"They're gonna rip him apart!"  
"He's throwing his life away!"  
"What's he got to prove?"  
All morning long, they'd confronted Luigi, presenting all sorts of reasons why he shouldn't go through with the bout. But the man in green just tuned them out. Oh, ye of little faith, he thought. But then again, he was used to this. Very used to this. Nobody really thought he'd be capable of anything, being the second player and all. Much of his life had revolved around proving them wrong. These masses were the reason why he was so good at sports and kart racing. They laughed, snickered, sneered and taunted, and it only resulted in him working harder than ever. It was almost ironic. Calling him weak, which in turn started making him stronger. Heh.  
Now, the mustachioed man in green was hours away from a challenge. Yes, he'd taken on challenges and event matches in prior tournaments, but never like this one. Call him stubborn, call him foolhardy or call him tenacious, but he wasn't about to turn his back on this!  
Bowser, Ganondorf, and Wario. Three enemies that Luigi made during the Smash Bros. tournaments, three enemies with attacks and specials that hurt like heck. And he was gonna face ten minutes straight with them, with unlimited stock but no items. At least Luigi got the say in the choice stage. That might help.  
What also didn't help was the fact Master Hand nerfed his down throw. Even after over a year, Luigi had never forgiven the Hand of Creation for doing that. All of those cherished combos, forever lost to the wind...this was all around a bad day for L.  
But would win this. He would strike like lightning and show them all the true master here. He could win without the choice in stage.  
He would strike them down without mercy. And nothing would stand in his way.  
Bring it on.

* * *

Motivational music blasted over the Training Room's sound system, echoes bouncing off the walls. Survivor was belting out "Eye of the Tiger", giving the scene the appearance of coming directly from the Rocky franchise. And indeed, the sounds of punches mingled with the famous 80s rock anthem, along with deep, whistling breaths and emphatic grunts. The sole occupant of the studio was training-and training hard.  
Piles of tattered Sandbags were heaped in a corner of the room, yet Luigi didn't let up from his relentless assault. This was do-or-die. In one hour, he'd be face-to-face with three people he loathed more than anyone in the world. And they minced no words about how they were looking forward to it. With each slam at the Sandbag came memories of the words they'd spoken to him during lunch.  
"Wah! We're gonna eat you up and spit you out, beanpole!" Punch.  
"GWA-HA-HA! I hope you brought you brother with you!" Punch. Punch.  
"By the time we're done with you, there won't be enough of you to be considered a person!" **Punch-Punch-Punch-Punch-PUNCH!**  
Luigi hadn't even made eye contact with them. He'd merely sat there calmly, eating his lunch, saving the fire for the upcoming bout. He would've liked to shove the remainder of his meal into one of their faces, or bring up the fact that they weren't particularly top tier material. But c'mon-that would make him no better than them. Besides, he was bottom tier in the first tournament and subjected to that crap-at least, until he zipped their lips with no-holds-barred displays of what he could do!  
Back to the present, Luigi also looked forward to this afternoon's matchup, but he didn't say that to those three. No, no-he was gonna let his fists, feet and fireballs do the talking. Man, the appointed hour couldn't come soon enough.  
"Eye of the Tiger" faded out, the silence quickly replaced with "Lose Yourself" by Eminem. Eminem was a frequent artist on Luigi's playlist, and this was one of the songs which got him in the zone. He took a deep breath and whaled away at Sandbag after Sandbag, his mind blocking out everything but the music and his attacks. He imagined one of his three opponents in the place of the training tool, faltering, his scare tactics falling to pieces in the face of Luigi's offensive strategy. And the anger came, sizzling and quick, anger which Luigi had to swallow back again and again. He had to stay focused. He couldn't let his personal feelings overpower him on the battlefield. Pausing, controlling his breathing, until the fury dulled to a manageable level. What would getting angry do, anyway?

Look...  
If you had  
One shot...  
Or one opportunity...  
To seize everything you ever wanted  
In one moment...  
Would you capture it  
Or just let it slip?

He gave the Sandbag before him one of his signature jumping uppercuts and glanced at his watch. Only forty minutes left. Luigi crossed the room and took a swig of Gatorade, still allowing the music to fill him. He closed his eyes for a moment to savor the sweat running down his face, his neck, his back and underneath his shirt. Dripping from his earlobes and nose, running over his eyelids and threading through his eyelashes. He let out a series of slow breaths in a breathing exercise, and then opened his blue obs. Surveying the pile of Sandbags he'd trashed and locking his gaze on three of them in particular, sprawled haphazardly on the floor. Envisioning those three in heaps on the stage, moaning and groaning and writhing and covered in bruises and blood, forced to acknowledge his presence. Asking him for mercy, for forgiveness for what they'd done to him. Being the kind person he was, he'd eventually forgive them. Probably. Maybe.  
"You might want to save some of that energy, L," said a voice.  
Luigi turned. James stood there, leaning casually against the wall, gazing at the man in green with pure reverence. He'd watched Luigi from a hiding spot from the moment the plumber walked in and cranked up his tunes; he'd taken in the sight of his arms pumping, of his fists and feet flying, of his body as it bobbed and weaved and of the sweat droplets flying every which way. He'd listened to the impact of each blow on sand-filled canvas, to each breath whistling and whooshing from Luigi's mouth and to his low, soft grunts of effort. No Sandbag had been spared. His three foes had better start to pray.  
"Hi, James," Luigi said with a small blush, slightly turning down his music. "How much of that did you see?"  
"Plenty," replied the original Mii Fighter, a look in his eyes that was...fear maybe? Worry? For his foes, perhaps? Probably meant nothing.  
Again, Luigi drank deeply from his Gatorade. "So," he said, "have you come to rag on me about my rash decision to take on three merciless heavyweights?"  
"No," James said honestly. "I just want to say-I believe in you, L."  
Luigi and James locked eyes. "Really?"  
"L, I don't care what those pessimists say about you. You can do this. You can. You're Luigi, the one and only mustachioed man in green. You fight ghosts. You're a speed demon in kart racing. You're a master at every sport under the sun. You even win by doing absolutely nothing sometimes-meanwhile if I do nothing I destroy stages. You put your fears aside when someone you love is in danger. You're truly a powerhouse in this tournament, too. If you can take on Master Hand, then you can take on those three fools. I know you can, L. I know you can."  
"James…" breathed Luigi.  
"So, the next time someone comes up to you and says you can't win against them, ignore them. Because they're wrong. You have people out there rooting for you, L. And I'm one of them. Truly, you're one of the best Smashers I've ever known, and I have faith that you'll smoke those turkeys! Just like how I smoked Final Destination… Heh. You can do this."  
Tears misted in Luigi's eyes. "Thank you, James," he whispered. "Thank you. Thank you. I can't tell you how much this means to me. All morning long, I've had fleeting moments of doubt. But you just drove away the last of them. I swear to you, James, I'm gonna give it my all." He made a determined fist, his facial expression leaving little to James's imagination. The Original Mii almost felt sorry for the heavyweights. Almost.  
"After hearing so many try to talk you down, I knew I had to step in," nodded James. "Don't train for too long, all right?"  
"All right. Thanks again, James."  
As James departed, Luigi unclasped his overalls, pulled off his shirt, and then re-clasped the overalls. Fifteen or so more minutes of training would do him more good than harm. Turning the volume back up, he set upon the Sandbags once more, chanting, "Yes, I can. Yes, I can. Yes, I can…"

You better lose yourself in the music, the moment  
You own it, you better never let it go!  
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow  
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime!

* * *

The match was 20 minutes away. Luigi stood, looking at the array of stages, wondering which one would best suit him. It would have to be a huge stage, so he could isolate his three opponents before having at them.. His mansion, where he could level the structure and cause some damage in the process? Nah, that was too anticlimactic. The Temple, or the Stage of Broken Friendship, where he could have his fun with them on the lower platform? Nope, that brought back too many memories of someone doing unto him in that fashion. Gaur Plain, with the multiple levels? Negative; Metal Face would be a distracting presence. Great Cave Offensive, with the lava pools he could lure them into? All right-Great Cave Offensive it was!  
A Mii named Grace, clad in a Luigi cap, approached him. "Ready?" she asked.  
"Let's-a go," Luigi stated confidently.  
Grace led the man in green to the Warm-Up area. "Your opponents are still getting ready," she said. "You'll be automatically transported to the stage when they're finished." With that, she disappeared.  
They're probably gloating about how they're gonna destroy me, thought Luigi as he used the Sandbag to burn off the last of the tension. Oh, how very wrong they are…

* * *

James sat in the first row of the stands, smiling as spectators filed in and made themselves comfortable. A large tub of buttered popcorn sat in his lap, piping hot, and the Mii Fighter popped a kernel into his mouth every so often. He'd traded his usual getup for an emerald green V-neck shirt, a pair of Levi's, some comfy Jordans and a personalized green cap with a "J" on it in Comic Sans. The majority of the incoming spectators were also clad in green, and they also came armed with colorful signs supporting Luigi. James was happy to be among this flock, to watch as Luigi showed these three pushovers that he was nobody to shove around.  
As a green-and-white clad pep squad swanned past him, James saw a red-shelled Koopa Troopa headed his way.  
"Excuse me, may I sit here?" asked the Koopa Troopa, indicating the seat beside James.  
"I'm sorry," said James, "but I'm saving this seat for a friend."  
The Koopa Troopa nodded. "I understand," he said before continuing on his way.  
The middle seat of the first row was Mario's spot whenever his little bro was engaged in a heated fight. This was because it was where he knew Luigi could see and hear him. It was the red-clad hero's cheers and presence which girded L from the word "Go" to the word "Game". And today-he needed Mario's support more than ever.  
Speaking of which, here he came now!  
Mario practically bounded down the steps to his favorite seat, Peach gliding behind him. "Thanks for saving my spot, James," he said as he plunked himself down.  
"No problem," smiled James. "After all, I hand out the tickets." He winked.  
"And thanks for going down there to talk to him," Mario went on. "I was afraid that these naysayers would shake his confidence."  
"Trust me, M," the Mii assured him. "Your baby bro's gonna take those three, because he's set his mind to it."  
"That's my bro," Mario stated proudly.  
"Would you like some popcorn while we wait for the battle to begin?" asked James, proffering the tub of popcorn to his seatmates.  
"Don't mind if I do," said Mario, taking a handful.  
"Thanks, James," Peach chimed in, also helping herself.  
As Mario, Peach and James crunched on popcorn, the Mii Fighter glanced at his watch. The big event was minutes away…

* * *

Standing on the Great Cave Offensive, Luigi was a handsome sight. He'd traded his normal getup for his Fire Flower ensemble...crisp white shirt, dark green overalls, a white cap with a green "L" on it and black (or dark brown), freshly polished shoes. The outfit matched the internal blaze within him as he stared down his three antagonistic opponents, their menacing expressions not affecting him in the slightest. His blue eyes sliced into their very souls. Then, they closed, his chest gently pulsing in and out as he took slow, deep breaths. Before a fight like this one, he'd always imagine a ball of energy, starting at his strong and stout heart and then slowly moving down to the center of his abdomen, directly at his navel. The energy ball grew as he breathed, and he welcomed the warm tingle spreading out in his core. He appeared to be glowing slightly as he cleared his mind, chasing away that pesky anger associated with the three bullies before him. They did and said things to him which would make your stomach turn, things which would make you shake your head and question your faith in humanity. But as soon as he heard the word "Go", Luigi was gonna make them pay...for everything.  
Master Hand, the announcer, started speaking. "Luigi… Vs… Bowser, Ganondorf, and Wario!" The match was due to begin in ten seconds. No items, except for the Smash Ball - not that anyone knew about the hidden item. Not even the contenders. The floating hand chuckled… However that worked.  
Luigi allowed himself one long, last deep breath, his eyes sparkling and promising Hell on Earth to his opponents as they opened. "Sono un sopravvissuto. Ho intenzione di fare questo. Non perderò," he whispered.  
It was time. "Three. Two. One! GO!"  
Luigi smiled, running up to Bowser first, who tried to grab him and suicide off stage. Cheap tactic, really. The L saw it coming from a mile away and fluidly sidestepped. The Flying Slam missed him by such a narrow margin that Luigi felt the wind whipping across his body. Exhaling, he noticed Ganondorf ambling toward him and threw a spin kick, striking the larger man in the torso. As Ganon reeled, Luigi flipped and buzzed around him, mercilessly pelting him with jump kicks, flip kicks and karate chops. Ganon tried to evade the fierce strikes, but his strength had cost him much-needed speed. Unsatisfied with the damage he was doing, Luigi moved in closer, unleashing frightful body blows and devastating Smash attacks, mainly the open hand stab he had for his forward smash. Ganon's vision blurred, and he saw stars, yet Luigi kept going, breathing in controlled beats, grunting emphatically with each attack he landed.  
Heavy footfalls sounded behind him, and Luigi knew it was Koopa attempting a cheap shot. Time to teach him a little lesson. Luigi seized Ganon in a firm grip and pulled him close to his slightly flushed face. By now, his respirations were brisk, but he was still able to breathe through his nose. Ganon had no choice but to look into the eyes of a very determined plumber, praying to Din that he wouldn't be the victim of a down throw combo. Oh, yes, Luigi could still pull off wicked combos; the nerf last year had only inspired him to make up new combos to replace the old ones. Luigi relished the sweat drop he saw on Ganondorf's temple. He'd love to eat Ganon alive with one of his combos, but he had an overgrown turtle to deal with. He tightened his grip on Ganon, swung him three times and then casually tossed him into Bowser's path as the King of Koopas attempted another Flying Slam. It was too late to stop the move, and Bowser wound up slamming his friend hard into the ground. The Gerudo King nearly punched Bowser, challenging him to a One Vs. One later.  
Luigi tsk-tsked. "That's what you get for turning Team Attack on," he admonished.  
Ganondorf and Wario tried, in sync, to crush the Green Thunder between two attacks. Luigi short-hopped before hitting both of them with a Cyclone. Before they could regroup, he set upon them with fireballs, swiftly pondering over which one to chew up and spit out first. The King of Evil was the weakest of the three, but Mr. Ravioli-he deserved a green beatdown the most, as he was a source of annoyance in both the tournaments and in his home world. A dark look came across his face as he made his selection. By now, Bowser had recovered enough to try and rescue the pair, but Luigi continued to keep him and Ganon pinned while cutting Wario from the group like a slice of rich chocolate cake. Dancing lightly on the balls of his feet, the man in green lured the Paragon of Greed a significant distance away from Ganon and Bowser and toward one of the dangerous lava pools. And then-he let him have it.  
Wario had been so sure of himself that he'd neglected to practice, and now he was paying dearly for it. Luigi's strong, steady fists thudded into him, but his girth acted as a cushion for his nerves and ribcage. Noticing this, Luigi opted to knock the wind from his opponent with several strategic forward smashes to the stomach. As Wario doubled over, Luigi whaled away at his mug, his grunts increasing to exhilarated hollers as he gave Mr. Ravioli more and more of what he deserved. Whenever his knuckles and feet started aching from punching and kicking, he'd simply grab Wario and repeatedly toss him into the air, watching as he ricocheted into the lava pool, blisters and burns appearing on his bruised skin. Then, Luigi would pluck him away from the dangerous area, and it began once again, the green fighting machine even styling a down throw combo or two on Wario when there was enough space to do so. Whenever Wario's two allies attempted to jump in, Luigi calmly flicked out his searing hot fireballs. The two kings were helpless and could only watch as Luigi showed them, showed Wario and showed the spectators that last year's nerf didn't cripple him in the slightest!  
However, just like before the nerf, those combos took a hefty amount of breath from the man in green. The spectators, especially Mario, James and Peach, could hear Luigi's breathing turn into those characteristic aggressive, staccato, sharp and dare they say angry whistles. But a slight ache in the lungs meant nothing to Luigi. It only made him pull off more creative combos! But, as always, Bowser wanted every excuse on God's earth to play dirty. One excuse was currently knocking him upside his horned head.  
Grinning, Bowser crept over to Luigi, still working Wario over, and assailed him with claw strikes, allowing Wario to escape the combo he was trapped in, unleash a powerful fart and make good his escape, laughing as he fled. Once Wario was in the clear, Bowser released his full wrath on the green-clad plumber before him, slicing his claws relentlessly. After about a minute or so, Luigi reoriented himself and looked at his longtime foe with unbridled hatred. After blocking the incoming claw, Luigi let loose with overhead punches, and with a battle cry leaving little to the imagination, cannoned a Super Jump Punch straight into Koopa's jaw. And a critical hit at that! Bowser rubbed his jaw, which was rapidly swelling from the powerful blow. Now he was really mad!  
Growling, Bowser ran over to Luigi, jumped above him, and before the man in green could react, he used his down special, the infamous Bowser Bomb. Luigi got hit, eliciting boos from the audience. In spite of the heavy blow, Luigi got back up, flashing the audience a quick, reassuring smile before turning back to his opponents, fists up, slashed and bruised from Bowser's earlier blows but by no means broken. He began to bring his breath back, lips rounded, twinkling eyes locked on his foes, awaiting their next move. The Koopa King shot a breath of fire, but the "blast lines" protected the spectators. As Luigi backflipped to safety, James impulsively threw a handful of popcorn at the Koopa King. Luckily for the Mii, the force field was one sided, which undoubtedly annoyed Bowser.  
"James, when I get my hands on you, I'm gonna disassemble your mol-"  
Bowser was oblivious to Luigi charging a Smash attack behind him. With a mighty shout of effort, the plumber speared his hand hard into the reptilian monarch. The pain was indescribable!  
"GRAHHHHH!" The Koopa King screamed as he catapulted through the air. Seconds before he hit the blast line, he came to his senses and recovered to the stage.  
Frustrated, Bowser positively pounced on Luigi, drilling into him shell first and then further slicing into him with his Whirling Fortress before viciously propelling massive, leathery fists into him! But Luigi was no bug about to be squashed. He read Koopa's incoming dropkick and immediately took the offensive with a forward throw, a dash attack and a dazzling display of aerials. Respirations kicking right back up to those whistles and whooshes, Luigi snatched Bowser by his spiked collar. And the turtle knew exactly what was gonna happen.

No! No! Oh, God, please, no! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Bowser screamed internally.  
Luigi read his mind and completely ignored him, throwing him down and butt-slamming him with godlike force, quickly following up with a f-air string and a smattering of airdodge reads. From there, it was on! Luigi ached all over from Koopa's assault, and he knew he was bruised, bloodied and swollen in several areas, but he was gonna make this reptilian bully feel the same thing, perhaps worse! He expertly evaded the lava pools and negotiated the stage's many platforms as he set about punishing Bower for his impulsive charge. His white shirt and slightly tanned, sweat-slicked skin contrasted against the relatively dark background of the stage as he leaped, danced, dodged, flipped and cartwheeled about, still taking some wicked attacks from Bowser yet continuing to go to town on him with combo after combo. Occasionally, he glanced over his shoulder to see what Ganondorf and Wario were up to and spammed his fireballs to keep them separated from Bowser. Whenever the big, bad turtle tried to escape, Luigi stunned him with a few swift tilts and re-grabbed him for an ever harsher combo. Over the sound of his breaths, of Bowser's body slamming into the stage again and again and the wince-inducing impact of his blows, Luigi heard the cheers. So many voices, chanting his name, rooting for him. The cheering was to him as ointment was to a cut and as air conditioning was to a hot, hot day. There was once a time when the audience wanted his opponents to crush him. But Luigi didn't let the encouragement distract him for long. He needed to stay focused. For the time being, he held a good, strong, lead, but one simple mistake could turn it into a devastating loss.  
Wario, tired of watching helplessly from the sidelines, mounted his bike and rode at top speed toward Luigi, hoping to ram him, but the green-clad hero heard the motorcycle's engine. He purposely allowed Bowser to DI away from his combo and then dropped to the ground, executing an impressive breakdance sweep. The down smash attack destroyed the Wario Bike, sending its rider spinning through the air and crashing into Bowser. Agitated, the Koopa King grabbed Wario and kicked him offstage.  
"Wow," Luigi said flatly. "You just saved me a lot of work."  
"Player Four… DEFEATED!" Master Hand announced.  
Ganondorf looked at Bowser in pure exasperation before attacking Luigi with his Flame Choke. This move brought on the disrespect because it could either combo into a down tilt or chain into itself. Ganon tried both tactics on his opponent, sprinkling in some Warlock Punches for grins and giggles. Luigi didn't know which pain to focus on; the death grip on his windpipe, the bursts of dark magic accompanying the down special which slammed him into the floor or that Godforsaken Warlock Punch colliding with key areas on his body. But the so-called Eternal Understudy was not going to lose! He dodged a Flame Choke, pulled his fist back, and shot it with maximum power into Ganondorf's face, blood spritzing out on impact and knocking quite a few teeth away. The Gerudo King was unhappy, to say the least.  
Ganon and Bowser raced at Luigi together. The plumber put up his dukes, shoulders thrust back, chin held high, waiting...waiting...waiting. Holding in the adrenaline and aggression till he could barely take anymore, keeping his breathing slow and steady. Just as the two heavyweights came eyeball close, Luigi struck. He sucked in a deep breath, crouched down, let his energy build, and literally let himself fly. He relished in the sensation of his head slamming into two bodies with the force of a Hyundai Elantra and in the sound and feeling of a few already-bruised ribs giving way beneath the green-capped cranium. He'd gotten a misfire, too, which was a 1 in 12 chance these days. The dull ache in his head was so worth it.  
The two were sent flying and landed on the other end of the stage. As they struggled to their feet, Luigi set about the usual process of pinning them down and singling one of them out for close-range combat. He opened his attack with a handful of fireballs, and then decided to try something else. Nimbly, he hopped onto an upper platform, and as Ganon attempted to pursue him, he executed a down aerial, timing the attack so that the top of Ganondorf's head was right at his hipbone. The painstaking precision paid off with a meteor smash, slamming Ganon down, back up and then back down. Bowser took another swipe at the man in green, but he cartwheeled away, dropped back down and took a risk by leaping between them, mashing into them both with a Cyclone and slightly rising off the ground as he did. The two were hurled away in different directions.  
Wasting no time, Luigi decided to go after Ganondorf, paying him back for the agony he'd subjected him to with the repeated Flame Chokes and Warlock Punches. He approached the Gerudo King as he picked himself back up and greeted him with a shy kick to a particular sensitive region. Ganon doubled over with a grunt, and then Luigi was upon him, sending serious and vicious punches into his face, pivoting and shooting hooks into the rest of his body. Bowser tried to rush in, only for the heel of Luigi's boot to collide with his shin. There was a faint yet discernible crack, and Bowser was hopping about, clutching his shin and screaming like a girl.  
Meanwhile, Ganondorf managed to get some mighty attacks of his own in, followed by a massive axe kick. Yet Luigi still got up. Before the Gerudo could give him enough distance, Luigi grasped him roughly. The look on Ganon's face as he realized what was about to happen was priceless. Unfortunately, he couldn't savor that facial expression for long…  
Smiling, Luigi butt-slammed Ganon, executed a double f-air, read the airdodge, re-grabbed, slammed and hammered at the King of Evil with greater vehemence. The Triforce of Power couldn't save its keeper from flurries of rapid, crushing strikes or brutal, bruising, heavy blows! The spectators heard more crunching and cracking, and they ate it up! James, especially, was having a party, helping Mario cheer loud and strong for the man in green. The green-clad pep squad the Original Mii had noticed earlier was a synchronized symphony of bouncing bodies, swishing pom-poms, boinging, glossy ponytails and perky voices. Their leader, tall and petite, shouted into a green-and-white megaphone, while the other girls and select audience members followed her lead. James was further stoked to observe Luigi actively responding to the pep squad's efforts, throwing more might and passion into his attacks.  
When Bowser once again lit up the stage with his fire breath, Luigi calmly snatched Ganon by his cape and used him as a Gerudo shield. Ganon howled in agony as the flames hit him, and the audience laughed. The cheerleaders blew raspberries, and the pep squad leader took the opportunity to fling her megaphone at Ganondorf, hitting him in the shoulder. Bowser glared in her direction and roared, but she and the others were unafraid. Next thing he knew, his tail was seized in a vice-like grip.  
The spectators were on their feet as Luigi spun Bowser right round, baby, right round like a record in that familiar way, a huge smile on his face. Faster and faster and faster they whirled, until Luigi heaved Bowser forward with a grunt, catapulting him into the just-recovered Ganondorf. Mario gave a loud whoop from his place in the stands as the two crashed-landed in a pile on their backs.  
The proverbial smoke poured from Ganon's and Bowser's ears as they untangled themselves, hate-mad eyes burning into Luigi. The man in green met their spiteful glares with a cool smile, streamed out a breath and raised his fists, practically begging them to charge. Which they did. And again, Luigi was ready for them. Dodging and ducking, and then letting loose with fireballs, fists, feet, open hands and down throw combos, making sure to hit already bruised areas at least twice. His white shirt was nearly translucent with sweat, several bruises slightly visible on the skin beneath, much to James's and Mario's concern. Peach was also biting her lip, drawing small pearls of crimson blood. They weren't petty bruises, either-they were big, dark and ugly bruises splattered on that limber, agile body. But they didn't seem to bother Luigi, who was now styling an impressive combo on Bowser while using his fireballs to force Ganon to watch. In fact, he'd taken Warlock Punches, Flame Chokes, axe kicks, claw strikes, body slams, even a Wizard's Foot or two-and got right back on his feet. Both eyes swollen and blackened, both jaws blue and purple messes, blood fountaining from his nose, mouth and from where Bowser's claws had slashed him. Yet he was still on his feet. Still fighting.  
And he was gonna be the last one standing.

Master Hand was watching from the observation booth. He was in charge of this now, ever since James annihilated his home stage. The Hand of Creation was still trying to design a new one.  
Nonetheless, Master Hand wanted to spice things up. He looked at his many options. He could summon a minecart on stage, on other stages he could do other things… But here? He didn't want minecarts, he wanted items. He looked at a glowing button with the Smash Bros. insignia. The Smash Ball!  
He smiled, silently laughing. Or at least, it was silently laughing. It was only after nearly a minute he realized his mic was still on.  
"My bad." He said to the mic, before switching it off. He looked at the button. He poked the button with his whole arm (because floating glove and all), and he smiled as the item appeared on stage, the audience gasping in unison.  
Master Hand couldn't have intervened at a better time. Somehow, Bowser and Ganondorf had gotten the drop on Luigi and disrupted his rhythm, and they were now double-teaming the man in green! Ganondorf held Luigi by his arms, pinning them behind his back, while Bowser used him as a punching bag, inviting the audience's wrath. They fulminated, cursed and made dirty hand gestures at him. Peach tipped her chinaware cup over the railing, spilling hot tea onto both her kidnapper and the Gerudo. Some of the pep squad even flashed the Koopa King until the ushers politely asked them to stop. Then, Ganon shoved Luigi towards Koopa, who grabbed the plumber and whipped him around, allowing his pal to take his turn.  
Luigi didn't even react to the blows. Didn't cry out or beg for mercy.  
Glancing up at the audience's sudden gasp, Luigi saw the Smash Ball floating lazily through the air. His body gave a sharp twist, freeing himself from Bowser's hold, and he took off after the mysterious object, leaving his slower foes in the dust. He attacked the Smash Ball enthusiastically, and it took only a few blows and kicks for it to give.  
Instantly, a multi-colored aura surrounded Luigi, his blue eyes glowing a golden yellow. The audience fell silent, waiting for his next move. Ganon and Koopa caught sight of him and stopped in their tracks. It was all over for them, and they knew it. Slowly, they began to back away, but it was no use. There was no escape. The yellow eyes burned malevolently into them. They saw bloodlust and glee. He had them right where he wanted them.  
Ganondorf muttered a prayer to Din. Bowser crossed himself. Luigi just looked at them, smiling a smile which neither of them wanted to see again.  
"End of the line, you two," Luigi said ominously. "Game over!"  
Dramatically, he brandished his beloved Poltergust 5000 and turned the suction on full blast. Bowser and Ganondorf screamed piteously as they were swept into the ghost-sucking contraption. Then, Luigi aimed the nozzle at the sky, ejecting the duo high into the air and beyond the blast zone.  
"GAME!" boomed Master Hand.  
Everyone cheered louder than a crowd at the Super Bowl. James pulled out a bottle of champagne, popped the cork, and sprayed the beverage all over himself, Mario, Peach and the rest of the spectators. They quickly followed suit with their own bottles of champagne. Drenched, whooping and hollering, the spectators followed James, Mario and Peach out of the seating area and to the Reception Hall, where they'd help Luigi celebrate a hard-earned victory.

* * *

"This game's winner is...Luigi!"  
The Reception Hall erupted into a splendid cacophony at Master Hand's announcement. The victor absorbed the cheers, a light flush animating his cheeks, as he struck a comical pose. The occupants of the hall ate it up, especially when he did his "Bang-bang!" pose. That was the most popular of his poses, as well as his favorite. And it was the pose he decided to strike now, doing a flashy spin before clicking his fingers into gun motions and adding the "Bang-bang!" and a wink for emphasis. Everyone went wild.  
Wario, Ganondorf and Bowser stood off to one side, glowering at Luigi. Nobody paid attention to them, though they'd tell you that they most certainly got what was coming to them. They weren't so high and mighty now, weren't they?  
As the ladies tossed Luigi flowers and Mario swept Peach into a passionate kiss, James regarded Luigi with a look of pride. Prior to the reception, the most serious of his wounds had been treated, though he was still sweaty and rumpled. A few curly-Qs of dark brown hair stuck to his forehead, and trails of perspiration were drying on his face and neck. His blue eyes sparkled with both humility and accomplishment. A broad smile extended from ear to ear, and not even the reproachful looks from the three he'd defeated could knock it off. As far as he was concerned, he'd knocked them clear from their high-horses and showed God and everyone that they were tough to beat, yet defeatable.  
James's eyes met Luigi's, and the Mii Fighter tossed him a quirky wink. But the Mii also saw something else in the plumber's eyes-gratitude. If he hadn't talked to him in the Training Room, then he probably wouldn't have kept his appointment on the battlefield. It took one Mii to make the words of many of a dissenter mean nothing to him. He'd done a good job ignoring them beforehand, but some of their comments had started to get to him, causing doubts to swim in his mind. The fact that this whimsical Mii, who tended to imbibe and wreck stages (albeit accidentally), believed in him, along with his big bro, the Princess and his other friends, was enough. So Luigi had kept his appointment. And he'd stuck it out to the very end.  
Softly, James mouthed, You're welcome.  
After the ceremony, Mario grabbed Luigi in a bear hug and swung him round. Peach, James, the pep squad and the others joined him in hoisting the victorious man in green onto their shoulders and parading him out of the room as the three defeated heavyweights stomped away, taking the anger over their defeat on one another and each trying to use the other as a scapegoat.  
Despite what others had said, Luigi had freaking done it. He had won. He had struck like lightning and showed them all the true master here. He'd struck those three down without mercy.  
And nothing had stood in his way.  
That's Luigi for you.


	14. Murder Murder

**Murder Murder**

* * *

Red was screaming bloody murder.

Emphasis on murder.

James stepped out of Hammerspace, looking at the... view. Red had a knife impaled through him, likely through a lung or two - maybe more organs than that.

James quickly muttered a spell, Holdwihm - Slowdown. James than took the knife out, and brought Red to the hospital wing by hand - to say, without magic, lest Red die instantly. Doctor Mario was too busy to even complain about his salary.

"Why did you not use healing magic?" Doctor Mario asked. James sighed.

"There is no such thing as healing magic. Not truly." James said, confusing the Doc. The mage-slash-swordsman-slash-punster-slash-trickster smirked.

"Healing magic exists in faint residues, but only a handful of people could use. I say 'could', because the last line of those who could use healing magic is dead. Aeris, her name was. Impalement. Miserable." He said. "With no more people who can use white magic, it takes the talent of god to do so, now." The doc nodded, hoping Red was fine.

"Hey, James, if you need anything, let me know, okay?" Steven said, startling him.

"STEVEN?! How did you get here?" James asked, surprised.

"A; Red is one of my best friends," Steven said, "And B; you left the door wide open..."

"Oh, damn it." James said.

"What? Do you hate me or something?" Steven replied.

"Oh, don't worry about it." James said. It was a bad habit of his, always leaving a door open. James heard coughing.

"Red! You're okay! James exclaimed.

"Not exactly, I'm still bleeding, I can barely speak and;" Red was suddenly coughing up a tiny bit of blood red as his namesake. "... and I don't think coughing up blood is okay normally." Red gave a ghost of a smile.

"Um, don't, don't worry, Red. I'll fix this. Avenge you...?" James said, the sentence trailing off.

"Don't write me off JUST yet." Red said, smirking.

"Preferably don't write you off, I take it." James countered, eliciting a small laugh from the trainer.

"Well, see you Red. With you fine and the crook punished. Ciao!" James said, smiling. But the second his back was to Red he scowled - eyes glowing vindictively.

* * *

James was walking towards the location of the crime, thinking about his plan. A; find a clue. B; use said clue to find the attacker. C; laugh while they get their comeuppance. But of course, no plan is that easy. A - part one; Search high and low for a clue. B - part one; study said clue for several hours. B - part two; Ask Red who would have motive to kill him. The list went on and on.

He also needed to likely fight the maniac, and James had shown most of his tactics already. Maybe if he were to grab the Levin Sword from his room? Next to the -

"Fuck." James said, seeing the scene.

James couldn't believe his eyes. The room, which had been splattered in blood before - was clean, spotless. James looked around for something, confused. That was TOO quick... The guy couldn't have LOADed, it would have fixed Red at least.

James looked at the sparkling clean walls. It was cleaner in here than before the murder - for sure not a LOAD.

James was having bad traction of the floor, which must have been mopped, when he tripped. He hit the ground, causing the Original Mii to swear in English twice more. Once, for hitting his head against the cold marble floor. Twice, for the message written on the high, high ceiling - the message in blood.

 _Murder, murder, on the wall_

 _Quite a shame you had to fall,_

 _And at this point just who cares_

 _To save the one right by the stairs?_

To save the one right by the stairs?

James jumped to his feet, ignoring the blood rushing to his head and instead running the center tower - the staircase. James looked around. No one.

James' left eye shone once more, screaming and spinning.

"SHOW YOURSELF," James couldn't hear the small creak of the wood beneath over his voice.

" - YOU LITTLE SON OF A BI-"

James was abruptly cut off by a snap, and a fall. A long fall. One story, two stories, three, four.

The last thought James had before passing out was that falling four stories felt like falling forty.

* * *

James woke up to Dr. Mario yelling at Master Hand.

"Next person to get sent here by fall injuries, and I quit!" The doc yelled. Master Hand ignored the statement, instead walking - floating? - to James.

"Ah, James, you're awake."

James tried to speak, but nothing came out.

He started sputtering incoherently before Master Hand explained what was wrong.

"Nerve damage, James. You won't be able to talk for a while."

James frowned. If his last SAVE file hadn't been a month ago (plus the two weeks he had been out, originally unaware it was that long), he would have LOADed at Red's injury, avoiding this whole fucking game.

James managed to vocalize this in one growl.

"But - you can leave the wing." Master Hand said. James smiled. Good. He had stuff to work on. But what about the attacker?

Master Hand, as if reading James' mind. "We believe to have found the attacker. Wario - likely a revenge plan on everyone who encouraged Luigi back on that match."

James smirked his trademark smirk. Luigi managed to defeat Wario for a second time - two and a half months AFTER his victory. Kudos, L.

"Red is better, so now, um, enjoy your day, James. You should be able to talk by morning, so don't stress out."

James smirked again. If he couldn't even talk if he wanted to, now injuries on the device would be a lot less... noisy.

Yeah. James got up, heading for his room.

At the door, James saw something. He blinked his eyes - a second time - third. Was that... a disembodied shadow? James went for his room, grabbed his soldering iron, and got to work. If this was to be done by his deadline, he was in for some late nights.


	15. Happy Birthday

Hey guys, James here. Been a while, eh? Good news. Uncommon Sense is FINALLY a year old. We've come far.

From three collab chapters - really, check out L Stands For Lethal, For Whom The Bell Tolls and The Amazing Grace if you haven't yet... ...to having a TVTropes page - search The Prodigy Fandom. You'll see it... ...to getting a degrading video by IntroSpecktive... ...to all of you guys... Thank you. So, guys. Enjoy.

* * *

 **Happy Birthdays**

* * *

Today was the annual - when the first Smash tournament ended, started - everything. So many battles, viewers - the Smash Tournament was basically a term of its own. James couldn't help but think of memories and events from the past.

* * *

 _"Greetings. My name is James Emile Prodigy. And if you wish, I will guide you around my... Let me rephrase that, our home. I have been here all my life, so I have more training than the world could ever dream. Shall we begin the tour?" Without an answer, he spun on his heel, motioned for the others to come, and walked out the door, ready to start the tour, with or without them..._

* * *

It had been SO long since then, and the day it all began...

* * *

 _"This mansion right now isn't huge, but this is only the second tournament. And the first doesn't count, really. The last tournament ended so long ago, on January 13th, 1999..."_

 _Mario spoke up. "How is yesterday that long ago?" His voice was more mocking than curious._

 _"...B.C." James added, as if it were almost obvious._

 _Mario stopped smirking._

* * *

God, he had been maybe a tad arrogant - oh, who was he kidding, he had enough of an ego to support a large army. Maybe he deserved the complications of his projects.

* * *

 _Luigi was defeating Sandbag mercilessly. His eyes held a gleaming stare that made it clear not to mess with him. He shot a green fireball, that floated, unlike Mario's. Next, he did his recovery move. It was like Mario's, but it automatically launched Sandbag five... Ten... Fifteen feet in the air. He then spun like Mario for his hidden technique._

* * *

Luigi had come so far. He even took down Wario, Ganondorf, and Bowser. His two Final Smashes from this tourney and the last were also powerful, forces to be reckoned with. James realized he had never battled the Eternal Understudy... That would need to be changed soon. He knew he had to help train L a tad bit more, and then - it would be a battle of the nobodies. Training L brought thoughts to mind.

* * *

 _"You might want to save some of that energy, L," said a voice._

 _Luigi turned. James stood there, leaning casually against the wall, gazing at the man in green with pure reverence. He'd watched Luigi from a hiding spot from the moment the plumber walked in and cranked up his tunes; he'd taken in the sight of his arms pumping, of his fists and feet flying, of his body as it bobbed and weaved and of the sweat droplets flying every which way. He'd listened to the impact of each blow on sand-filled canvas, to each breath whistling and whooshing from Luigi's mouth and to his low, soft grunts of effort. No Sandbag had been spared. His three foes had better start to pray._

 _"Hi, James," Luigi said with a small blush, slightly turning down his music. "How much of that did you see?"_

 _"Plenty," replied the original Mii Fighter, a look in his eyes that was...fear maybe? Worry? For his foes, perhaps? Probably meant nothing._  
 _Again, Luigi drank deeply from his Gatorade. "So," he said, "have you come to rag on me about my rash decision to take on three merciless heavyweights?"_

 _"No," James said honestly. "I just want to say-I believe in you, L."_

 _Luigi and James locked eyes. "Really?"_

 _"L, I don't care what those pessimists say about you. You can do this. You can. You're Luigi, the one and only mustachioed man in green. You fight ghosts. You're a speed demon in kart racing. You're a master at every sport under the sun. You even win by doing absolutely nothing sometimes-meanwhile if I do nothing I destroy stages. You put your fears aside when someone you love is in danger. You're truly a powerhouse in this tournament, too. If you can take on Master Hand, then you can take on those three fools. I know you can, L. I know you can."_

 _"James…" breathed Luigi._

 _"So, the next time someone comes up to you and says you can't win against them, ignore them. Because they're wrong. You have people out there rooting for you, L. And I'm one of them. Truly, you're one of the best Smashers I've ever known, and I have faith that you'll smoke those turkeys! Just like how I smoked Final Destination… Heh. You can do this."_

 _Tears misted in Luigi's eyes. "Thank you, James," he whispered. "Thank you. Thank you. I can't tell you how much this means to me. All morning long, I've had fleeting moments of doubt. But you just drove away the last of them. I swear to you, James, I'm gonna give it my all." He made a determined fist, his facial expression leaving little to James's imagination. The Original Mii almost felt sorry for the heavyweights. Almost._

 _"After hearing so many try to talk you down, I knew I had to step in," nodded James. "Don't train for too long, all right?"_

 _"All right. Thanks again, James."_

 _As James departed, Luigi unclasped his overalls, pulled off his shirt, and then re-clasped the overalls. Fifteen or so more minutes of training would do him more good than harm. Turning the volume back up, he set upon the Sandbags once more, chanting, "Yes, I can. Yes, I can. Yes, I can…"_

* * *

Yes he could. He smoked those turkeys, just like how he smoked F-

"OW!" James screamed. He quickly clamped a hand over his mouth. Had anybody heard that- god, it was four in the morning, what if woke someone up...

James had just smoked himself with his soldering iron. For the love of Hades, that hurt. Where had his train of thought been, under than wielding a soldering iron... Oh yeah. Luigi had smoked those turkeys, just like James had smoked himself just now.

* * *

 _James's eyes met Luigi's, and the Mii Fighter tossed him a quirky wink. But the Mii also saw something else in the plumber's eyes-gratitude. If he hadn't talked to him in the Training Room, then he probably wouldn't have kept his appointment on the battlefield. It took one Mii to make the words of many of a dissenter mean nothing to him. He'd done a good job ignoring them beforehand, but some of their comments had started to get to him, causing doubts to swim in his mind. The fact that this whimsical Mii, who tended to imbibe and wreck stages (albeit accidentally), believed in him, along with his big bro, the Princess and his other friends, was enough. So Luigi had kept his appointment. And he'd stuck it out to the very end._  
 _Softly, James mouthed, You're welcome._  
 _After the ceremony, Mario grabbed Luigi in a bear hug and swung him round. Peach, James, the pep squad and the others joined him in hoisting the victorious man in green onto their shoulders and parading him out of the room as the three defeated heavyweights stomped away, taking the anger over their defeat on one another and each trying to use the other as a scapegoat._  
 _Despite what others had said, Luigi had freaking done it. He had won. He had struck like lightning and showed them all the true master here. He'd struck those three down without mercy._  
 _And nothing had stood in his way._

* * *

Luigi had done great. He imagined fighting Luigi, when the Duel of Hyrule floated to mind.

* * *

 _James had a small trick. All he needed was to get Mario over here... The red clad plumber ran straight at James, who jumped off the edge. Mario followed, about to meteor smash, when James grabbed him. The two of them hit the blast line as one._

 _SUDDEN DEATH! GO! The announcer yelled, excited. James felt bruised from the start. He was at such a high risk level that anything could kill him. Mario ran at him, charging a smash attack. But then, James gripped his sword in reverse grip, and..._

 _GAME! THE WINNER IS... A fanfare based on Battlefield's music started playing. JAMES!_

 _"Don't mess with the Original Mii." James said. He then proceeded to laugh._

* * *

The infamous Duel of Hyrule. He won that match... The Duel of Hyrule had a celebration pie, not that it ended well...

* * *

 _James - saving before hand - and Reflet took out one bite of each of their sections. James gagged, and took to LOADing the save state. The taste was still there. That pie was not food - it was poison, from the depths of Hell. James sighed. The past time he ate food THIS bad... Never. This wasn't food, after all. This was a powdered death trap._

 _The moral of the story - keep James and Reflet out of the kitchen._

* * *

He truly was a lousy baker. He needed to get better for that matter, if all was going to go to plan... He kept thinking about his friends and - by this point, family. Like Game-And-Watch, the original gangster. The guy he angered before James knew he existed.

* * *

 _I turned around, and saw no one. "Wave your arm, you might hit him." Doing so, I knocked someone to the ground._

 _"Meet Mr. Game and Watch." When the small black, shadow, thingy got up, he let out a series of beeps._

 _"What's he saying, Master Hand?" James asked._

 _Master Hand somehow frowned. "I don't think I should translate that..."_

* * *

Since then, James had learned Game-And-Watch's language, and knew that Game-And-Watch had let loose a considerable line of swears by that point. James also knew for a fact that ever since that day, Game-And-Watch had a certain rivalry for James that was to be excepted. The two were friends, but still enemies. However, he had said goodbye to a lot of them at least once... Like the end of the First Tournament.

* * *

 _"It is rather lonely in Smash Mansion... so... would you mind writing to me? Just once?" James asked. Several Smashers nodded. "Okay, that's good... Also, I have a selection of over twenty stages I've designed... sort of..."_

 _"Sort of?" Ness asked._

 _"Yeah... I've only... half-planned them... If I had half a mind, I wouldn't make half-baked plans half the time. Well, I guess that's half a hour I need to make the other half of those half-planned half-drawn stages... Wow. Um, forget I said that, can you?"_

* * *

His puns still hadn't gotten better. After all, if his puns were 'better', would be HALF as fun. James facepalmed at this. Yep, his puns were still bad. His openings, however, were not bad.

* * *

 _With that, the lights flickered three times, before plunging the room in pure darkness._

 _Several screams were let out from the shock._

 _" **Do you know my identity?** " A hoarse, raspy voice let out. Several whispers, as they noticed as thin black silhouette zip past some of the crowd._

 _" **Or am I a mystery to you all?** " A single candle lit, giving an eerie glow to the room._

 _" **Am I your best friend**?" The flame turned green and grew._

 _" **Or your best nightmare?** " The flame turned black, darkening the room and spooking out the audience._

 _" **I am...** " The candle exploded, throwing wax everywhere._

 _" **the one, the only...** " a candle lit in front of each veterans, in their favorite color. A center flame appeared, rainbow._

 _" **James Prodigy.** " The lights flickered as if to a beat, before leaving all but one off. The one in back was on._

 _" **The Smasher of infinite power.** " Cue the applause. James thought to himself._

* * *

He had gotten so many people there. He was many a tad bit - okay, very - dramatic. Over-the-top dramatic, like a perfect star. Stars... like the Sun...

From there, the night got blurrier and blurrier in James' mind, leading him to know he had been drunk. Well. He had also caused some great problems by being drunk for the first match of the tournament.

* * *

 _"Well, Link and my counterpart are going to be in the hospital." Dr. Mario said, looking at the injured Smashers. "For about... five weeks. Twisted arms, and legs, crushed arm in my counterpart's case, and the indestructible Master Sword is bent." He sighed and turned his gaze from the mangled Link and Mario to face James. "What the hell even happened?" The doc asked, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say they fell a billion feet!"_

 _James sighed. "They did." The doc looked at James wide-eyed for a moment, before leaving the wing, muttering something about a raise._

* * *

Oh, the Doc was going to be pissed that he was getting less than average pay when the wo...

Never mind all that. He remembered fighting the Doc for that matter. Ended for him quite miserably. What wasn't miserable was New Year's.

* * *

 _Thirty seconds left. Then it would begin anew._

 _Twenty seconds left. James felt that this year would be the best._

 _Fifteen seconds. And in a few seconds, it would all begin._

 _Ten seconds. And end._

 _"FIVE! FOUR! THREE! TWO! ONE! HAPPY NEW YEAR!"_

 _Spectacularly._

* * *

Indeed. In mere weeks, this would all begin. As it ends. Spectacularly.

* * *

 _Robin looked at the newly formed rift, the pink space between glowing brightly. "My, what's this? A secret do-"_

 _James shoved Robin-F in, answering. "A place where you are staying for about an hour, have fun!"_

 _Robin-F tripped to the ground, and didn't manage to get out. Her thrown Levin Sword did, however, faintly slashing James's left shoulder. James winced, and picked up the weapon. He looked at the sword in shock. He had it... Surely he could replicate it..._

 _Two down, five to go. James then ran to find out where Robin-M was. Where was he?_

* * *

He had part of the machine. James grabbed the Levin Sword. Reflet didn't know, but she had a replica of the famous blade. Same lightning magic, same design... But different magic... contracts bonded to it. James grabbed the blade, and put it into the circumpolar hollow of the machine. God, this had better been right... The sword discharged with enough force to throw James back, to even restore feeling in his left arm, if only for a moment of pain.

James screamed into the night suddenly, but shut up just as quick. Tears in his eyes, he pondered. He hadn't felt that arm in YEARS. Melee, in 2001. It had been over a decade...

But now, after all these years. Melee. When he had started this project, unbeknownst to Master Hand, the original creator. Yes, yes. In all due time, it would be ready.

Happy birthday indeed.

* * *

 _ **RMGVIWRNVHRLMZO**_


	16. Lucas Comes Out Of Nowhere!

**Lucas Comes Out Of Nowhere**

* * *

It really sucked to be Ness. Battle after battle, he was getting wrecked. First Mario, who used the Cape to shoot bolts of fire back at him. Little Mac, who struck him in the jaw. Wario, who thought eating Ness was funny or something. Marth's Shield Breaker. Charlie stealing a PK Thunder. Robin using Nosferatu. Donkey Kong's meteor.

And Bowser was there to finish it. He ran up to Ness, to end the little psychic... Ness braced for yet another defeat... and...

"PK FIRE!"

The Koopa King was launched backwards, startled. The user slid back, next to Ness. Ness looked at the newcomer - no... veteran.

"L... Lu-" But the veteran didn't wait. The returning veteran jumped in the air, flipped, and used PK Love midair...

 **LUCAS COMES OUT OF NOWHERE!**

* * *

"I'm back." Lucas said, on Orbital Gate Omega. Using PSI, he considered his foes. For Ness.

* * *

First, Little Mac. The bruiser from the Bronx punched at Lucas, but the psychic dodged, before using his hopefully-still-infinite. Damn, wasn't infinite.

* * *

Bowser Jr. drove up to Lucas, ready to strike. Lucas was faster, and launched the Koopa Prince far off.

* * *

Mega Man blasted fire around himself and Lucas. Lucas dodged, and used Rope Snake to grab Mega Man. A down throw shoved Mega Man into the dirt, and Lucas followed up with a combo.

* * *

Falcon was about to punch Lucas with his infamous Falcon Punch... but Lucas just froze him in his tracks. Literally.

* * *

Lucas also used PK Fire on his foes. First on Duck Hunt Duo - no one actaully knew their names, not even Master Hand, oddly enough - causing the dog to flee, and also on Charizard, to stop a Rock Smash. Lucas was... **ON FIRE TODAY**!

* * *

Next, Rosalina. The psychic threw Rosalina up, and combo-ed her with PK Thunder. Simple.

* * *

Luigi, like always, did rather good. Lucas, did have his PSI Magnet though... Lucas absorbed the fireball Luigi threw at him, and when Luigi tried for Green Missile, Lucas closed the shield. Turns out it acted almost like a spiked shield. Heh. PSI Magnet helped again, to protect Ness from Bowser's fire breath. Lucas smirked at the Koopa King, and looked at his good friend.

* * *

Charlie also got his comeuppance. The homicidal maniac flew towards Lucas on a Lloid. Lucas simply bounced it back with a stick. Charlie panicked face was priceless.

* * *

Lucas was now at the finally, finally fixed Final Frusti- Final Destination. He swirled around, PSI from his hands. "I'm back!"

* * *

James frowned. What had taken Lucas so long? James searched for the reason for a bit, before he found out. Lucas had come back somewhat uninvited. He had been invited...

James merely forgot to send the letter.

"Me and post offices, eh?" The original Mii said, frowning.


	17. Chillaxing, Relaxing, Still Rather Taxin

**Chillaxing, Relaxing, Still Rather Taxing**

* * *

James was, for the first time, going to a beach. Yes. First time. Hell, first time out of the Mansion for fun - at least, as an intended goal. He still remembered those two girls he met during Brawl - he had been a tad too drunk, even by his standards.

He was in a thin black shirt, black shorts, and his eyes were glowing sea green. Naturally, what other color - well, maybe blue...

He considered bringing the Book of Iwata, but decided against it. No one knew he had it, save for Diancie, Darkrai, and Arceus, so... Keep it that way.

He did bring his Aquatint Ring. He would never go anywhere water without it. He left his room, in his own way. He stepped through a double slice in Hammerspace - passing through a one-foot thick titanium door. Perfect to stop intruders.

He stepped through the mansion, before getting to the entrance.

Most people were there - to be more exact, every member of the roster except Tim, R.O.B., Charizard, Ganondorf, Koopa, and Wario - the first hating water, being lethal to the second and third, the last three banned from the trip - Crazy was also there to keep a metaphorical eye out.

James was glad Crazy had transportation - too many through Hammerspace was not healthy. Crazy snapped his fingers - limbs? - and everything distorted and twisted. After a bit, everyone was at Delfino. James staggered, his eyes changing colors randomly, dizzy and unseeing. Should have done solo Hammerspace.

James looked around. Delfino Square was beautiful - it was James' measure that had it become a stage. Today was no exception - at least, not yet, but he didn't know that.

James set up a blanket on the sand near the deserted beach. How Crazy got this entire place to themselves, James could only guess. He looked around - some were tanning, swimming, and other beach activities.

He was just about to fall asleep when he heard it. A crack rang out through the air, and James quickly summoned a shield of stats, details, and other various pieces of his surroundings - his GUI - Graphical Universe Interface - an ability he has and pretty much no else. Seriously, where did it come from - Hammerspace?

He tried to close the GUI quickly, and looked for the sourc-

"You have got to be kidding me." James said.

Lightning storm. Wonderful. Just wonderful.

"Everybody, out of the wat-" **CRACK!**

James screamed at the lightning bolt struck the ground mere inches from him. He staggered back in the ocean around Delfino.

He was being swept up by the sea.

Must...

Warn the ot...

James was being picked up and thrown by the ocean. Lightning storm AND flood? Of course. James would have screamed at the ocean if he could open his mouth without drinking seawater.

His hand went for his ring - the Aquatint Ring. He tapped it, with one request - part the ocean.

It glowed a sea green, and the water reacted. He whisked to the bottom of this sea floor, thinking it had gone wrong, before the ocean then parted drastically. A bubble formed around James, and all the water above him tried to pop said bubble seemly, but bounced off of it.

The water then sliced like a rift through the air. It parted, sand visible. He took steps forward, warning everyone to get out. Crazy had to get them out of here now.

James tripped, and the Ring fell off. He watched as the water, with no controller any longer, went back to normal - and the water caved in around James Prodigy.

* * *

James woke up in a cold sweat. Oh - it was only a drea...

He was in the hospital. Again.

The Doc was arguing with Master Hand once more.

"Sir Hand, look, I'm quitting!"

Master Hand paused, and smirked the best a white glove could. "Please pack your things and leave." he replied calmly.

The Doc realized he was trapped here, unless he didn't care for fighting anymore. He growled, and stormed off the rant in private. James chuckled.

He didn't notice the Ring was gone forever until two days later.


	18. Guardian In Green (by Shana Hager)

**Guardian In Green**

* * *

Lightning crackled in the sky above him, the clou **d** s a threatening dark gray. He knew that every second he spent wading in the water decreased his chances of survival. Water was electricity's friend, after all. He should know-he wielded electricity himself.

But he couldn't leave the water. Not yet. Not with a helpless soul sinking beneath the waves.

He saw James calling for everyone to get out. He saw him use his ring to lite **r** ally part the waves. And then he saw the ring get whisked away. James Emile Prodigy was now at the mercy of the cold, cruel ocean.

Powerful strokes propelled the man in green through the choppy ocean. Thank G **o** d for his superb athletic abilities and for the fact he was wearing a pair of green swim briefs! But maybe he should start laying off on the spaghetti…

Shoving that thought aside, he took a deep breath and dove into the blackness which sucked the struggling Mii under. Ominous rushing and gurgling filled his ears, yet he dove on until he reached James. Gathering him in his arms, he rapidly kicked for the surface, breaking it just as his lungs were about to give.

As thunder rumbled, he splashed to shore, laying James down upon the sand. He looked a little pale, and he wasn't breathing.

"You're not gonna die on me, James," he murmured, sitting him up and **w** rapping one arm around the Mii's chest.

The Smashers began arriving on the scene as the rescuer set to work pumping the water out of the Original Mii. And it worked. It spilled out of the barely-conscious Mii's mouth and onto the surf.

"It's okay, buddy. I got you," he said as he laid James back down. Grace, well-versed in life-savi **n** g techniques, cradled James's head while instructing a small Mii named Evelyn to elevate James's legs. As soon as James was in place, the rescuer began administering CPR.

"C'mon, James, c'mon. Breathe," exhorted the rescuer as he did the chest compressions at a brisk pace, 25 to 30 per minute. More water spurted out of James's mouth, a good sign, but he showed no sign of regaining consciousness.

"I'll try mouth-to-mouth," offered Grace as she tilted James's head back. "Are his airways clear?"

"I think so." He did not look up from his CPR. "C'mon! Don't give up on me, James!"

Grace administered mouth-to-mouth in precise intervals.

"Guys…" began Evelyn.

The CPR became slightly mor **e** frantic. "I know you can hear me, you selfish b-d!" he shouted.

Grace flinched slightly at the profanity. Given the situation, it was understandable…

"C'mon! I know you can-hear me-you b-d…" Physically and emotionally exhausted, he collapsed atop James.

His ear just so happened to be next to his heart, and that was when he heard it. Thump...thump...thump… It was slow, but there.

"I'm feeling a pulse!" Evelyn announced.

"Thank you, God," breathed Grace. "This guy's a fighter!"

The trio stepped away as the EMTs arrived to let them do their thing.

"Who found him?" asked one.

There was a touch of pride to the Green Thunder's voice. "I pulled him out of the water," he explained.

"Thank you, L. You did good. We'll take it from here," said the EMT.

"I'm gonna ride with him." His tone left no room for argument. "He was there for me when I needed it the most, and I'm not leaving him."

"We'll meet you there," said Grace. "Go."

He hopped into the ambulance, which drove away.

The other Smashers followe **d** behind shortly thereafter.

* * *

 **OLWCV MV UVOHYC QLTS.**

 **E JSXOUB'P UEYH JORRH MDDSO VJ KH NOOA'X SDIH KS QB SCOJ.**

 **NPPRJH INOHV NVWG M'P DSCQG XR GF GARQ FULSH.**


	19. Roy Seals The Deal

It was a somewhat normal day - Marth, Ike, Robin, and Lucina were all fighting on Coliseum.

Counters are exchanged, strikes were dealt. Friend against friend in a climactic battle...

Don't forget about me. Fire suddenly blazed, as a blue clad swordsman with red hair leaped out of the darkness and flames.

I've returned at last! The swordsman said...

 **ROY SEALS THE DEAL!**

Roy smiled, and ran into combat...

* * *

Roy then proceeded to be knocked off the stage by a sword. Roy Koopa, that is! Roy of Fire Emblem then proceeded to aim his sword in air, victorious.

* * *

Marth decided to help Roy train for this tournament. Marth aimed a Shield Breaker, but missed as Roy combo-ed Marth painfully. Roy still had it in him.

* * *

Roy then jumped over Ness' PK Fire, and and used his up tilt on the psychic, followed by a Smash Attack. As Ness died, Roy felt the blade of his weapon in his hands.

* * *

Wii Fit Trainer and Ness tried to take on Roy together. Roy merely up smashed, and the two fighters flew upwards, blasting off.

* * *

Roy then took on Yoshi, cancelling the dinosaur's recovery with a meteor smash - too easy.

* * *

Wario had a tactic to beat Roy - wait til he was open, and zero-to-death him...

He didn't account for Roy to zero-to-death the biker with his Flare Blade...

* * *

Roy and Lucario were battling. A Force Palm was aimed, but it missed. Roy hit with his own side special, killing Lucario.

* * *

Roy was here at the end. Time to show what he had. He glowed gold for a moment, and pulled his sword into a reverse grip. As Mewtwo and Samus got near, the two gasped seeing Roy's Final Smash.

Critical Hit.

The two flew off stage in the blink of an eye, as Roy said, "For those I must protect... I CANNOT LOSE!"

* * *

James had also been somewhat "uninvited" - invited, but they didn't know that.

James startled as he heard a knock. He opened the door, where Reflet was there, giving James something. A letter.

Was this the one he sent Roy?

He looked at the letter, and facepalmed.

He forgot the address.

"Why me?"


End file.
